


The Knot Box®

by fanserviced



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Crack, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Romance, Smut, Workplace
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-01-15 10:57:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 37,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12319641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanserviced/pseuds/fanserviced
Summary: Kyungsoo is an alpha delivery guy for The Knot Box®. Jongin unhappily discovers that he's an omega just before opening the door for a delivery. The meet, meet again, and years later find themselves working together for Wolf Pack, an a/b/o care package start-up.





	1. Prologue 1

Kyungsoo rang the doorbell and stepped back while using his knee to rebalance the large box in his hands.

The door cracked opened slightly.

“May I speak with Mr. Kim Jongin?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Speaking,” said the voice behind the door.

“Hello, I'm Kyungsoo with The Knot Box®, the first premium rut care package for alphas, brought to you by Fortune 500 start-up Wolf Pack, the makers of The Heat Box®. I have a Mega Knot Box™ — our top-of-the-line package for you and your package — if you don't mind signing for it I'll get right out of your way so you can enjoy the premium Knot Box experience,” said Kyungsoo. He cleared his throat and sang, “it’s a box for your dick.”

The door slowly shut.

Kyungsoo blinked.

“Mr. Kim?” asked Kyungsoo when he didn't hear a chain moving or see the door opening.

Kyungsoo shifted the box so he could ring the doorbell again.

The door eventually cracked open, the opening even smaller this time.

“Mr. Kim–” said Kyungsoo.

“Is this a sick joke?” the voice asked.

“A joke, no? It's a care package intended to help you through your upcoming rut,” said Kyungsoo.

“I didn't order this,” the voice said dully. “There must have been a mistake.”

“If you just sign for the package, you'll be able to read the card inside,” said Kyungsoo. “I'm not supposed to say anything, but I saw that this is a gift.”

“A gift?” the voice said.

“Yes, we advertise heavily in lad magazines, maybe you've seen us? Someone you know has,” said Kyungsoo. “I can tell you more about what the box has inside?”

Silence.

“Each box is packed with endurance-giving protein bars and shakes that will allow you to maintain your energy for the duration of your rut with no dangerous blood sugar dips or loss of performance,” said Kyungsoo from memory. “A cube of high performance sports drink formulated with the needs of alphas in mind will keep you hydrated despite giving the rut everything you've got. A jumbo box of Rehoboam condoms to prevent accidents of all sorts along with a liter of UltraSlick for the comfort of your partner. The Mega Knot box contains the additions of a vibrating knot ring for enhanced pleasure and one pound of 18-month Gouda.”

“Why cheese?” asked the voice.

“Because it's delicious?” said Kyungsoo.

“Can I take the cheese and leave the rest?” the voice asked.

“You can do whatever you want as long as you sign for this,” said Kyungsoo. “I don't get paid for the delivery unless you sign, so…”

“I can't do this,” said the voice, barely above a whisper.

“Do what, Mr. Kim?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Any of it,” the voice said from lower, presumably because Mr. Kim Jongin was now sitting on the floor of the entrance to his apartment.

Kyungsoo looked around and then knelt on the welcome mat, wincing as he saw that his work pants were getting dirty.

“What's going on Mr. Kim?” asked Kyungsoo. “You don't have to tell me everything, but it sounds like you might want to get it out.”

“Who sent me this?” asked Jongin.

Kyungsoo fumbled for his phone, pulling up the order information.

“The order is in the name of Lee Taemin,” said Kyungsoo.

The voice laughed loudly before hiccuping into a sob.

“You said there's a note?” asked the voice.

Kyungsoo nodded before realize that Kim Jongin couldn't see him from behind the door, or at least well enough to recognize the gesture.

“Yes. We don't usually read notes meant for customers…” said Kyungsoo.

“I give you permission,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo slid the card from the top of the box and opened it.

“Nini- congrats to the baby of the group on finally being revealed as the alpha we always knew you were. We chipped in for a care package in hopes you'll be able to enjoy the pleasures of life on top over and over, ideally with some sweet omega helping you get used to maturity. Glad to have you with us,” said Kyungsoo.

“My name is Kim Jongin,” said the voice, “but I'm not an alpha. My friends assumed wrong when I sent a text to the group chat saying that I'd finally reached maturity as a wolf.”

“Oh,” said Kyungsoo.

“Yeah,” said the voice.

“Can I open the door?” asked Kyungsoo.

The door squeaked open.

Kim Jongin sat on the floor, his hands covering his cheeks as best as possible. He wore gray sweatpants, a matching sweatshirt with some sort of food stain, too close to the collar for him to see without the aid of a mirror. His black hair was long and uncombed. He looked no more than 19, the minimum age for maturity.

Kim Jongin gestured for the clipboard so he could sign for the box. In so doing, he removed his hands, revealing acne on his cheeks that he had attempted to hide.

“Don't look at me,” said Jongin, his eyes resolutely lowered. “I’ll sign, just don't look.”

Kyungsoo stared at the ground, uncertain about what to say and feeling out of his depth as a 25-year-old alpha.

Jongin handed the clipboard back to Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo pushed the box toward where Jongin sat on the floor.

“Would you like me to explain any of the items to you?” asked Kyungsoo softly.

“Please take it away,” said Jongin.

“What about the cheese?” asked Kyungsoo, looking up.

“I'm not in the mood for dairy,” said Jongin. “Someone else can have it. My skin has already gone wild thanks to my maturity hormones.”

“Listen,” said Kyungsoo, scooting closer. “I know it's not my business, but…”

Jongin looked up at him, their eyes connecting for the first time.

“Whatever you're going to say, don't,” said Kim Jongin, wrapping his hands around his cheeks again. “I don't want to hear about respecting myself by taking a shower or some face wash that healed your teenage niece’s zits or a speech about how status does matter, I'm in hell already. It all matters.”

Kyungsoo scooted closer. “It's hard to see a young wolf hurting so much,” he said.

“You must be an alpha then,” said Jongin.

“I am,” said Kyungsoo.

“What do you know about this?” asked Jongin. “I’m a fucking receptacle, a little bitch. You don't know–can't possibly know what this feels like.”

Kyungsoo growled and Jongin’s head jerked up.

“I'm not sure where you're getting these ideas from, but even if you can't respect yourself, I won't hear such things spoken about omegas,” said Kyungsoo.

“I'm sorry, alpha,” said Jongin.

“My name is Kyungsoo, and I'm not hiding behind a status I never asked for either.”

“I'm sorry, Kyungsoo,” said Jongin. He began to pick at a scab on his cheek.

Kyungsoo gently reached out and caught Jongin’s hand.

Their eyes met again as they awkwardly sat on either side of Jongin’s stoop.

Kyungsoo shifted and slowly slid his right hand to Jongin’s cheek, then did the same with his left.

Jongin seemed to vibrate with nervous energy as Kyungsoo shifted forward.

“When you make peace with who you are, you'll find all the love and happiness you could want,” said Kyungsoo, his voice low and soothing.

Jongin’s eyes filled with tears.

“I'm not there yet,” said Jongin in a whisper. “Not anywhere near it.”

“I know,” said Kyungsoo. “Take your time.” 

With that, he opened his arms and Jongin scooter closer in order to lay his head on Kyungsoo’s chest. Why two fairly reserved young men decided to hug it out five minutes after meeting wasn't immediately apparent to them, but it felt right at the time.

The sight of Jongin, Kyungsoo, and an oversized box was thankfully not the strangest thing seen in the neighborhood that day. That honor would go to the local intramural soccer team, which dressed up the goalkeeper as Oscar the Grouch for their annual bottle collection drive. Even if people did pause momentarily when realizing that the door to the apartment was open, they looked away quickly to give the figures privacy when hearing a low croon intended to soothe a scared wolf.

Romantic novels often describe the moment a wolf meets their mate as a The End, a conclusion. For Jongin and Kyungsoo, meeting was just the beginning.


	2. Prologue 2

Two years later, Kyungsoo rang a doorbell and stepped back while using his knee to rebalance the box in his hands.

The door swung open.

“May I speak with Mr. Park–”

A young man burst out of the apartment.

“Oh, you're not pizza,” he said, smoothing his hair back while fanning his face.

Kyungsoo looked over the box and nearly dropped it. A tall man with sculpted shoulders and glowing skin appeared to be wearing no clothes in the doorway of the condo where he was making a delivery. Kyungsoo discreetly looked lower to confirm and discovered that the man was wearing some tight black designer briefs, but yup, he was otherwise naked.

He decided to carry on as if this were perfectly normal; it wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen in his years as a Wolf Pack delivery guy and he was paid to remain professional in all sorts of wild situations.

“Hello Mr. Park, I'm Kyungsoo with The Knot Box®, the first premium rut care package for alphas-”

“I'm not Mr. Park,” the man said.

“Would you mind asking Mr. Park to come to the door?” asked Kyungsoo.

“You probably don't want me to do that,” the man said. “He's a bit preoccupied right now and might insist on marking the hallway here. He's territorial at the moment.”

“Ahh, no problem then, happens all the time,” said Kyungsoo. “Could you sign for this?”

“What is it?” asked the man.

“The Knot Box®, the first premium rut care package for alphas, brought to you by Fortune 500 start-up Wolf Pack-”

“I know you!” the man exclaimed, slapping his hands together excitedly.

Kyungsoo looked over the box with wide eyes.

“You brought me cheese!” the man exclaimed, taking the box from Kyungsoo’s hands and setting it on the floor. He opened his arms for a hug, which Kyungsoo thought seemed quite forward given that he didn't remember them meeting before. Still, he needed a signature and it looked like this guy was his best bet. He adjusted his jacket so the zipper wouldn't scratch him and leaned in for a hug.

“I'm sorry if I transfer highlighter onto your clothes,” said the man. “My name is Kim Jongin, in case you don't remember me.”

“Kim...Jongin?” asked Kyungsoo, drawing back to look at the tall man with a body and face of a god. “I delivered to you two years ago, right?”

“Yes. Did you bring me more cheese?” asked Jongin playfully.

Kyungsoo’s face fell. “This is the regular version of The Knot Box, I'm sorry that it doesn't come with cheese.”

“That's ok,” said Jongin, “I need to not eat it anyway.”

Kyungsoo realized that they were having a whole conversation while hugging for some reason, and moved to withdraw.

“Wait,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo looked up at him. Jongin’s right hand, now larger, slid to cradle Kyungsoo’s cheek as Kyungsoo had once done for Jongin.

“You saved my life, I'm not kidding,” said Jongin. “You and cheese.”

“I'm happy that despite being very ordinary I could do something helpful for someone,” said Kyungsoo, his breaths a bit shallow.

“After I met you, I dreamed that you’d come back and help me through my first heat,” said Jongin.

“Why are you telling me this?” asked Kyungsoo, his eyes widening.

“It feels right. Since then, I've had plenty of people willing to help me through rough moments of all sorts so don't feel bad about abandoning me,” he said cheekily.

Kyungsoo swallowed. “I'm glad to hear that,” he said, his voice low.

“Thank you, Kyungsoo,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo nodded, somewhat dazed and pulled back to zip up his jacket and stumble out of the building.

It was when he reached his car that he remembered the delivery signature — or lack thereof.

He winced while racing back into the building, slapping the buttons for the elevator in hopes of getting the signature he needed before the box would end up in use and neither party could come to the door to sign.

The elevator dinged open and Kyungsoo rushed in, nearly knocking into Jongin, who stumbled out.

“Kim Jongin?” asked Kyungsoo. “Why…”

Jongin turned, his eyes leaking tears and his lips a brighter pink, running back into the elevator. Kyungsoo followed him.

“What happened?” asked Kyungsoo, following him. “You were fine just a moment ago.”

“He threw me out because of the smell,” said Jongin.

“The smell of…” said Kyungsoo.

“He was territorial but cool before, but he flipped out when I came inside,” said Jongin. “I was lucky to grab my bag. My clothes are still there.”

The elevator doors buzzed and closed.

“Do you want me to go up and get them?” asked Kyungsoo, hovering over the button.

“No, I'd rather not set off a fight over some easily replaceable clothes,” said Jongin. “Not worth it.”

Kyungsoo shrugged off his jacket and handed it to Jongin.

“I'm not sure about the best way to wear this,” said Kyungsoo, “but it's yours.”

Jongin pulled it on, leaving his long legs uncovered and feet without shoes.

Kyungsoo knelt to untie his shoes.

“I'm ok, I'll just call a cab to get home,” said Jongin. “The sidewalk isn't bad.”

“I can drive you, if you want,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin nodded yes, the tears seeming to leak faster.

“Can you sign my delivery confirmation?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin laughed and nodded yes again, wiping his face. He followed Kyungsoo out of the building and down the sidewalk to the parking lot.

“Fucking hell,” said Jongin, smoothing back his hair and wiping away the last tears, “I thought I was getting somewhere.”

“Wait here,” said Kyungsoo, jogging off to pull his car around to the edge of the sidewalk.

Jongin stood, half clothed, resolutely not looking back at the building.

Kyungsoo pulled up in his dated, if clean economy sedan and leaned over to unlock the passenger door for Jongin.

“After this hellacious day, if you had pulled up in a Maserati I'd have claimed you as my mate,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo threw back his head and laughed while draping a hand over the wheel.

“This is my Momerari,” said Kyungsoo, “my mom’s old car. Sorry world, Kim Jongin is still set loose on you.”

Jongin folded himself into the passenger seat, tucking his hands under his thighs to appear smaller and more compact in the small car.

“I really am mom, aren't I?” asked Kyungsoo, leaning over to help Jongin with the glitchy seatbelt, forgotten in his attempt to get in.

Jongin looked down shyly.

“I wanted to show a much cooler side of myself if we ever met again, and here I am more of a mess than before,” said Jongin.

“I'm not someone that needs to be impressed,” said Kyungsoo. “I'm not particularly good at anything, just a delivery guy.”

“The best delivery guy ever,” said Jongin, beaming despite his sad eyes.

“Where am I taking you?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin gave directions to his dorm.

“Do you want me to walk you up?” asked Kyungsoo. “Your biological processes have rendered your scent-”

“Are you trying to say I smell good?” asked Jongin playfully.

“Good is a judgement,” said Kyungsoo. “I said nothing about the quality of the smell.”

“The smell of two alphas on me should act as a force field for dick, sadly,” said Jongin.

“What are you going to do?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Walk up, take a shower, and probably jerk off?” said Jongin. “Blue balls, man...”

“No, I,” said Kyungsoo, hugging the steering wheel and laughing once the car was parked. “I meant,” moving his hands in a circle, “with life.”

“Carry on as I have?” asked Jongin. “I dunno.”

“If I can give advice: Get powerful,” said Kyungsoo. “On your own terms, get money and power and wall yourself in so you never get hurt like this again.”

“I'm just a college kid,” said Jongin, unbuckling. “And an omega.”

“All the more reason to build a fortress brick by brick once you're done with school,” said Kyungsoo.

“Is this what you've done?” asked Jongin.

“Not at all,” said Kyungsoo. “But I never had to.”

“I shouldn't have to,” said Jongin. “I should be able to just live and enjoy life like-”

“Like an alpha?” asked Kyungsoo. “Listen, you'll either get what you need from some alpha protector or from your own power. Give up wishing for what can't happen and fight for yourself.”

“Is this what's known as tough love?” asked Jongin.

“Just good advice that most people can't be bothered to give,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin nodded slowly. “Why is it always us that has to change?” asked Jongin. “I fixed my hair, my skin, my teeth — went through a lot of pain to do it — and got the body I was told I needed and it's still not enough, apparently. It's trendy to say that there's nothing wrong with us, that omega is equal, but if that's true, why are we the ones who have to change all the time? What part of yourself have you had to give up to survive?”

Kyungsoo stared at the steering wheel.

“Just play along a bit longer and don't dash your life on the rocks in hopes of making everything equal for everyone,” said Kyungsoo. “Just don't get hurt is all I'm saying.”

“I already am,” said Jongin.

“I'm just trying to-” said Kyungsoo.

“To what? Protect me?” asked Jongin. “Who cares what happens, it's my life to throw away. If you're so worried, do something more for omegas than delivering lube to alphas in ruts, trust me, _we_ can make that shit on our own.”

Kyungsoo huffed and looked out the window, away from Jongin.

“You really have no idea do you? You-” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo began to croon softly. 

Jongin sighed. He took the keys out of the ignition and made sure the shifter was in park. 

He carefully climbed onto Kyungsoo’s lap, his butt hitting the horn accidentally while climbing on.

Kyungsoo continued to hum, his eyes asking all the questions. Jongin’s bare legs bracketed Kyungsoo’s and he shyly put his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

“I'm not done being angry at the world, but I should really get back to my room,” said Jongin.

“You could have gone out the door on your side,” said Kyungsoo. “Not that I'm complaining.”

“This side is closer to my dorm,” said Jongin softly.

“I can take you up, if you'd like,” said Kyungsoo. “I know you can do it on your own, but-”

Jongin shook his head no.

“Goodbye, Kyungsoo,” said Jongin. “I hope I meet you again, in a better life.”

“Goodbye, Jongin,” said Kyungsoo. “Don't let it take too long.”

The sun hit Jongin’s skin at just the right angle so his hair was crowned by light and the faint traces of his acne scars were visible. A patch of highlighter on his collarbone shimmered. He opened the car door and extricated his legs, one after the other, and carefully stepped onto the sidewalk, pulling his bag out with him.

“Kyungsoo-” said Jongin, causing him to jerk his head around.

Jongin leaned down and pressed his lips against Kyungsoo’s.

“Despite our points of disagreement, I might like you more than cheese,” he said.

Jongin closed the car door, leaving Kyungsoo to touch his lips and smile uncontrollably while watching those long, bare legs walk away while wearing his jacket.


	3. Our First Omega Hire

Three years later, the office at Wolf Pack was in its usual state of disaster.

“You have the black card on file, why aren't the two pallets of parable-free UltraSlick in my warehouse right now?” asked Junmyeon, talking loudly on his phone while hitting the brew button a second time on the same coffee pod.

He untaped a flat box of donuts and took one before walking out of the pantry with his mug in the direction of his desk.

“Yeah, yeah, I just saw Minseok this morning at the warehouse and he said that he doesn't have the lube,” said Junmyeon. “We’re launching the Chute-Buster Box in China next week and I know you know I need that lube by noon to pull this off. Yeah yeah, I can hold, just find my lube.”

He walked by Jongdae slinking into the office looking tired.

“Late night?” Junmyeon whispered.

“I was out with the new Forest Squad,” said Jongdae lowly while yawning and smelling his breath at the same time.

“Forest Squad?” asked Junmyeon.

“Influencer group, like a Street Team except deep wolf style, guys who are really connected to that _canis lupus_ life,” said Jongdae. “We had a kickoff party at a converted old slaughterhouse last night and those guys don't play. Mostly fight, except fun, they're real cool.”

Jongdae collapsed at his desk and folded his arms so he could stare at his deskmate.

“Can one of the Forest Squad do a Snapchat takeover for us next month during the Big Bone-iversary?” asked Sehun across the table.

“Yeah, but who came up with that name, my god,” said Jongdae.

“Who else,” said Sehun, nodding in the direction of Yixing, currently sitting in a beanbag in the Quiet Room while contemplating a large crystal.

The door to the Quiet Room opened and someone tried to crawl out discreetly.

“What are you doing on the ground, Baek?” asked Chanyeol loudly, walking by to grab papers from the shared office printer.

“My dignity rolled under the desk,” said Baekhyun, getting up slowly while rubbing his knees.

“Here’s your, huh, press release draft. HEating Clean?” asked Chanyeol.

“Yeah, it’s a new clean eating delivery service that arrives when your omega goes into heat,” said Baekhyun. “See, it’s HE, like HEating Clean because it’s manly to stay ripped and hard the whole time thanks to clean eating. We’re turning away from our earlier experiments with stuff like cheese.”

“Sick, bro,” said Chanyeol. “But why haven’t I seen this yet? It seems kind of good to get marketing onboard for launches.”

“The copywriter-slash-researcher guy was supposed to loop you in,” said Baekhyun.

“Moonkyu?” asked Chanyeol. “He left, like, two months ago. Remember? We were on the hiring committee to find his replacement.”

“Oh yeah, does that mean I can eat his yogurt in the fridge?” asked Baekhyun.

“Hey Jongdae, are you on this call with Kris, Luhan, Tao, Yixing, and Minseok?” yelled Junmyeon across the office.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” said Jongdae while clicking into the analytics reports he and Sehun studied each morning. “Did anybody send a calendar invite?”

“Can you just duck into the conference room when you get a chance?” asked Junmyeon. “The Chute-Buster launch is busting my balls and we need this one to bust big.” Junmyeon paused to laugh at his own joke.

Jongdae shook his head yes, jumping from his chair and jogging over to the pantry for a pre-meeting snack. He opened the donut box.

“What are those?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Donuts, Do Kyungsoo, you want one?” asked Jongdae.

“No, but what are they?” asked Kyungsoo gravely.

Jongdae flipped down the lid. “Huh, did you bring these? We’re getting a new worker?”

“What are those donuts supposed to represent?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongdae opened the lid and stared at the glazed donuts with pink frosting glazing the inside edges of each and then back at the note on the box.

“Are these...OH MY GOD WHO BROUGHT RIM DONUTS??!?” asked Jongdae, howling as he exited the pantry so everyone could hear him.

“Oh yeah,” said Chanyeol, “Baek and I chipped in for those after Yixing mentioned the concept during an ideation session.”

“Why were you having an ideation session?” asked Kyungsoo, his face unsmiling.

“We were on the new hire search committee and we wanted to make him feel at home, so…donuts?” said Chanyeol. Baekhyun joined him in the doorway to the pantry.

“Why this particular design though?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Because we wanted to represent him here in the office and show he’s welcome?” said Baekhyun.

“Why would glazed donuts decorated to look like an anus be welcoming to our new employee?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Because I’m sure he has a very nice rim given that he’s an omega?” said Yixing, who materialized out of nowhere.

“You. Can’t. Bring. Sexual. Donuts. To. The. Office,” said Kyungsoo.

“But why?” asked Baekhyun. “Our whole business is sex-positive, we can’t stop talking about sex here, sorry, but we have to keep the lights on.”

“You can’t target an employee due to their status like that,” said Kyungsoo. “It’s Status Harassment. We went over this at last month’s seminar and the emergency one held the month before that.”

“But he’s our first omega hire and we just wanted to make sure that we address the elephant dick in the room right away,” said Chanyeol. 

Junmyeon walked in with Minseok at the warehouse and Tao, Luhan, and Kris in Chengdu on a Hangout video call. 

“What’s going on in here?” he asked.

“Our DoNUTs tanked with Wolf Resources,” said Chanyeol.

“Oh that’s what those were?” asked Junmyeon. “Had I known, I’d have savored mine more.”

“Everyone out,” said Kyungsoo, taking the box of donuts and moving toward the trash with it.

“Wait!” said Sehun, pushing from the back of the crowd in the doorway. “They can be saved!”

He plucked one from the box and proceeded to tongue off the pink frosting obscenely while making noises of pleasure.

“You have got to be kidding, Oh Sehun,” said Kyungsoo.

“Do it for the Vine!” yelled Junmyeon while showing the scene to Minseok and the China team.

“Even I know Vine is dead, Sehun, please see me in my office,” said Kyungsoo.

“Why do you get an office while everyone else works in the main space with shared tables?” asked Sehun, still licking frosting from his fingers.

“Because I deal with things that are private like rut time release and now heat time release,” said Kyungsoo.

“You do realize that it’s not going to be that private when this new omega starts prepping for his or her heat and the entire office walks around trying to propose, right?” asked Minseok from the video call.

“Propose is putting it mildly,” said Jongdae under his breath.

“None of you are proposing shit in this office, do you understand?” asked Kyungsoo. “We have a no dating policy here and you need to file a memo if you’re even seeing a supplier. We’ve been over this.”

“Ok, but what if it’s outside the office and we’re just fucking?” asked Chanyeol.

“Read the policy, all of you,” said Kyungsoo. “You’re acting like a bunch of frat brothers still.”

“Well, yeah, it makes sense because that’s where we all met,” said Sehun.

“Still, it’s been years since we graduated, it’s time to grow the fuck up and act like we’ve got our shit together. Just because our new hire is an omega doesn’t mean that you can Status Harass them, date them, _fuck them_ ,” he said, glaring at Chanyeol, “or say the wildly inappropriate things you animals usually say in this godforsaken office.”

“What’s their name, anyway?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Kim Jongun,” said Baekhyun.

“No way,” said Yixing under his breath. “How is he going to do both?”

“Not Jongun, Jongin,” said Chanyeol. “Kim Jongin.”

“Yes? That’s me?” said a voice from the back of the group clustered around the doorway.

The crowd of employees parted, revealing a tall young man wearing a suit and glasses.

“I’m Kim Jongin,” he said. “I’m the new hire at Wolf Pack.”


	4. Pamplemousse

“You want a beer, man?” asked Baekhyun.

Jongin flipped his phone up to look at the time. “It’s 11,” said Jongin. He looked around, checking the windows to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. “It’s still morning, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you could think like that,” said Baekhyun. “[La Croix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Croix_Sparkling_Water) then?”

“Obviously,” said Jongin. “You have Pamplemousse?”

“Can’t meme without it,” said Chanyeol, reaching into the Wolf Pack fridge to grab cans for everyone.

Baekhyun’s hand darted in for a yogurt before letting the door to the glass-front fridge slam shut.

“They keep the fridge stocked for us and the pantry has coffee pods and snacks every afternoon, so help yourself,” said Chanyeol. “One of the benefits of start-up life, I guess it’s supposed to offset the iffy health insurance and open plan work area.”

“Cool,” said Jongin, cracking his La Croix open.

“Your desk is over here with the Dream Team,” said Baekhyun. “We’re called that because we generate ideas — me, Yeol, Xing, and now you — and also make dreams happen.”

“In bed,” said Chanyeol, snickering behind his can.

“Dumbass, we can’t say that shit anymore,” said Baekhyun under his breath.

“Holdup, this is literally how we communicate, how are we going to get anything done at our _sex business_ job if we can’t talk about sex and have to keep dancing around what we’re really trying to say?” asked Chanyeol. “I’m exhausted, taking some time in the composition pod to get in a better headspace.”

Chanyeol walked into the Quiet Room and let the door glide shut behind him.

Baekhyun carried on with the tour like nothing happened.

“You can put your bag down here at your desk and I’ll take you around to meet the other team members,” said Baekhyun. Jongin dropped the black leather bag he had received as a graduation present from his sister into his chair at a mostly clear desk and turned to follow Baekhyun.

“Here’s Yixing,” said Baekhyun, walking up to a guy in a hoodie currently writing words in bubbles on a whiteboard using different colored markers.

“Oh, Pamplemousse, nice choice,” said Yixing.

Jongin smiled. “Yeah, I like the...pretend fruit taste and lack of sweetness, good stuff.” He winced.

“I’m Sam Adams guy myself in the morning, but I guess you have to take it easy on the drink in case you’re pregnant, right?” asked Yixing.

“Male wolves can’t get pregnant,” said Jongin. “That story was discredited.”

“Sounds fake, but ok,” said Yixing. “You would know.”

“Not more than any other guy here,” said Jongin. “Really.”

“Let’s check in on the conference room and see what they’re up to,” said Baekhyun, not wanting to end up in the middle of the third yelling match about fake news this month.

He and Jongin slipped into conference room three, where Kris, Luhan, and Tao were projected on the top half of the screen and Minseok on the bottom.

“The parable-free lube hasn't arrived yet?” asked Junmyeon. “You're certain?”

“Yeah, inventory just got done and nothing new showed up,” said Minseok.

“Fuck, we have to delay the Chute-Buster launch,” said Junmyeon. “Can we get legal to intervene?”

“We need to maintain good relations with UltraSlick because they're the only parable-free lube company anybody actually likes. That really hippy stuff doesn't have the slick, plasticky glide that's popular with the bottomer status,” said Kris.

“What if we convinced Sploosh Industries to make a parable-free version for us?” asked Luhan. “They've got that good good, last I checked.”

“They've rejected our offers on that before,” said Tao. 

“Anyone remember why?” asked Junmyeon.

Silence.

“Can I ask a question?” asked Jongin, half raising his hand.

“Oh, hey, guys this is Kim Jongin, he's our new Moonkyu, so he'll be handling copywriting and research for us,” said Baekhyun.

Everyone barked out greetings.

“So, not sure if this has been discussed already, but it's _paraben-free_ , not parable-free. Also, parabens have a bad rep, but they're actually safe if you read the research,” said Jongin.

“Yeah, we actually know that, but customers always ask for parable-free, so we started calling it that. It's sort of an inside joke that stuck for some reason. And we know they're fine, but we have to respond to customer demands,” said Tao.

“What if we educated customers about the safety of them?” asked Jongin. “It might take a bit of work, but it could open up a lot of new avenues for products and brands, and could help us negotiate better contracts.”

“Hmm, I’ll get on the phone with UltraSlick and see if they can deliver regular by our deadline if you can get some copy written and out on social, Jongin,” said Junmyeon. 

Jongin nodded yes, his hair flopping.

“Also...have you done market testing of...was it… _Chute-Buster_ as a product name?” asked Jongin.

“That was the fruit of a really good ideation session run by Yixing over some morning Sammies,” said Baekhyun.

“What does your customer demographic look like these days?” asked Jongin.

“Pretty hot, buff, manly guys?” said Kris.

“But are they alphas, betas, omegas? What's their income like? Hobbies? Political views?” asked Jongin.

“Yeah, we’ll need to schedule some research on that, it’s been a bit since our last demo reports,” said Luhan. “I don't think we’ve kept up with it since our last bite from a venture capital firm, to be honest.”

“When was that?” asked Jongin.

“2012ish,” said Tao.

Jongin winced.

“If you don't mind, I'm going to just test this name with some closed omega groups I'm in on social. They know to keep things in the group. The last thing we need is for the launch to earn us a boycott, and the possibility honestly seems high given the climate after the leak of those Full Moon Corp tapes,” said Jongin.

“Damn, yeah, those tapes,” everyone murmured solemnly.

“When can you get us an omega take on the Chute-Buster name concept?” asked Baekhyun.

“Give me until 3,” said Jongin, already typing into his phone as he and Baekhyun left the conference room.

“We need to get you set up on Slack and email,” said Baekhyun. “Kyungsoo will have to do that.”

Jongin slowed almost imperceptibly.

“Do Kyungsoo?” he asked. “I thought I saw him.”

“You know Kyungsoo?” asked Baekhyun.

“We’ve met before,” said Jongin. “Briefly, long story, nothing bad.”

“You guys graduated around the same time, actually,” said Baekhyun, tossing his yogurt container into the garbage like it was a basketball and missing.

“I thought he was older than me?” asked Jongin.

“Yeah, but he went back and finished his degree, switched to Wolf Resources,” said Baekhyun.

“What was his major originally?” asked Jongin.

“Umm...honestly, I think he was most invested in lunch the first time in college,” said Baekhyun. “But once he went back, he really buckled down and finished fast. He ended up getting an award for being top in his major.”

“Impressive,” said Jongin, pinching his bottom lip with his fingers.

“Lemme Slack Soo and let him know you're coming by to do paperwork and get your desktop set up in a few minutes,” said Baekhyun. “Go introduce yourself to Sehun, blond hair, he's your age.”

Jongin shuffled over to the guy, already feeling drained due to the new work environment and energy of his colleagues. He spotted a bathroom to his right and decided to take a few minutes to decompress first. He wandered into a stall and closed the door, sitting down and pulling out his phone to see what was happening on Twitter.

“So I fucked this alpha last night,” said a voice conspiratorially.

Jongin almost fell off the toilet. He had no idea anybody else was in the bathroom. He looked under the partition, and sure enough, there were feet.

He debated how to respond. How does one respond when someone shares a sex secret across bathroom stalls like they’re in a church confessional? He cleared his throat, hoping to buy time so a delayed response wouldn’t make this more awkward than it already was.

“No, no, I _did not_ bottom for him,” the voice said while the toilet next to him flushed, “the first time, at least.”

Jongin held in a giggle, imagining an alpha bottoming, as if they could take it.

The sink turned on and Jongin considered lifting his feet in order to remain undetected. If he emerged at this point, things would just be weird like he was eavesdropping.

“Hey new guy, do you have any hand soap?” the voice asked.

Jongin jerked to attention. “Uhh, no?” he said.

“Fuck, we’re out again and I forgot my personal bottle at my desk,” the voice said.

“We have morning beer, but not hand soap?” asked Jongin.

“Beer is essential to company functions, sanitary standards, ehh,” said the voice.

“How did you know it was me?” asked Jongin.

“I looked through the stall,” said the voice. “There are these gaps, you know.”

“That’s not weird at all,” muttered Jongin, stowing his phone in his pocket and exiting the stall.

“I’m Jongdae, head of influencer relations, emphasis on the _relations_ ,” he said.

“I’m Jongin-”

“Our first ever omega hire, yes, I know,” said Jongdae. “We all know.”

“Great,” said Jongin. “Who told you all? Did Wolf Relations give you guys a heads up?”

“Naw, I think the search committee discovered it while checking your references,” said Jongdae.

“Well, I’m glad to be working here, and I hope things go smoothly,” said Jongin.

“You have no idea how many lube jokes I’m holding in right now,” said Jongdae. “Anyway, nice to meet you, we have more La Croix in the fridge if you don’t want to drink one that’s been in the bathroom since...waste aerosolizes and all that.”

Jongin dropped his can in the waste bin and pulled on a smile. “Thanks man.”

He left the bathroom not feeling particularly reset socially, but he headed to blond Sehun’s desk anyway.

“Hi, I’m the new hire, Jongin.”

“Oh, do you need a beverage?” asked Sehun, looking up. “We have-”

“No, no, thank you, I actually already had a La Croix,” said Jongin.

“Oh which flavor is your favorite?” asked Sehun.

“Umm, Pamplemousse at the moment,” said Jongin.

“Cool, classic style, man, I like it,” said Sehun. “I should poll our Instagram Story followers to see how many like Pamplemousse best, hmm,” said Sehun, scribbling a note for himself on an UltraSlick-branded pad of Post-Its.

“Hey, Jongin, Kyungsoo is ready for you,” said Baekhyun, “first door next to the bathroom.”

Jongin swallowed hard while waving goodbye to Sehun, turning to walk slowly to his final stop on the office tour: Wolf Resources.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not fucking kidding, every start-up I've been to has La Croix.


	5. Wolf Resources

Jongin raised his hand at the door labeled Wolf Resources, but it swung open before he could knock.

“Come on in,” said Kyungsoo, seemingly unsurprised by his arrival.

Jongin followed him in silently.

“Would you like tea?” asked Kyungsoo, rolling over in his chair to turn on an electric kettle.

Jongin wasn't sure the last time he'd had tea, but said yes.

“I hope your first day at Wolf Pack is going well,” said Kyungsoo.

“It seems to be going fine,” said Jongin, “everyone is super nice.”

“Excellent. Let me print the new hire packet for you,” said Kyungsoo. “You can fill it out at your desk and just bring the whole thing back with your ID once you're done.”

Jongin licked his lips and shook his head yes.

“I've set up your desktop, email, Slack, and Drive access,” said Kyungsoo, sliding a sheet of paper with typed usernames and passwords across the desk. I recommend changing passwords immediately once you're able to log in for the sake of security.”

The printer next to the kettle fired up and began spitting out pages.

“English breakfast ok?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin jerked to attention, trying to understand the question.

Tea, yes. “Sounds great,” he said.

“I've emailed info about pay dates, leave and sick day accrual, and our retirement plan to you already, it will be waiting for you when you log in,” said Kyungsoo. “I've added you to our confidential heat and rut tentative planning software. That info is stored securely and only used so we can log the time off correctly -- in accordance with the law, of course. Posters in the pantry spell all of that out, no need to bore you.”

“Of course,” said Jongin.

“I’ll put your tea in a to go cup so you can just recycle it in our compost bin next to the pantry rather than having to remember to bring back a mug,” said Kyungsoo. “I guess you're coming back anyway once your paperwork is done, but ehh, I've already poured it.”

“Thank you,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo gave him a friendly, but impersonal smile.

“Well, I should...” said Jongin, rising from his chair.

“If you have any questions or problems please don't hesitate to contact me,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin smiled back, a tight, quick smile. That was never going to happen because all of Jongin’s questions and problems now were related to Kyungsoo.

–

Jongin toweled off after his shower, feeling totally beat from his first day at work and hoping to go to sleep early so he would be ready for day two.

He walked to his closet and reached into the back. He felt around for a moment and then his hand landed on what he sought.

He pulled the garment out of its cover and off the hanger, arranging it on the bed. The arms were spread out and the front open. He sometimes liked to imagine that, laid out that way, the coat had fallen when it's owner had disapparated momentarily, sure to reappear soon.

Jongin pulled on a pair of briefs and then the coat. He thumbed at the edges of the sleeves, now frayed, thinking of the times he had picked at them: studying for exams, the night before his sister’s kidney tests, more heats than he could count.

He curled in his bed, mindlessly humming and breathing through the collar where it rode up. Jongin patted around for his phone and navigated to the staff listing page on the Wolf Pack website. The URL populated automatically.

He scrolled through photos of each of the people he had met today, minus Moonkyu, who had yet to be removed from the list. Toward the end of the page, Jongin stopped scrolling.

Do Kyungsoo, Wolf Resources. He had a shorter haircut in his photo than he had today, but it was unmistakably him. Jongin propped his phone against a pillow. He curled tighter and fiddled with the cuffs of the jacket again while studying the page.

—

Across town, Kyungsoo was holding in a yawn while sitting at a desk, waiting for the phone to ring. Eventually he darted over to an ancient mini fridge and pulled out a 7-Eleven bag that was tied at the top and bore a “Kyungsoo” tag held on by a thin rubber band.

He returned to his desk and chugged a Red Bull then unwrapped a premade sandwich. He was three bites in when the phone rang.

Kyungsoo hastily swallowed and grabbed for the receiver.

“Angels for Omegas Hotline. Tell me your story when you're ready,” he said.

Sandwich forgotten, Kyungsoo nodded while listening, murmuring words of support. For thirty minutes he listened.

Eventually he responded to something by laughing and rubbing at his eyes.

“Yeah, the hotline name is kind of...not very modern,” said Kyungsoo. “I think it was founded around the time telephones were invented.”

He took another sip of the Red Bull, now fairly warm.

“Yeah, I'm not to blame for the name,” said Kyungsoo, laughing, “I'm a more recent addition.”

He stretched while listening to the omega on the other line.

“I first applied to be a phone angel about three years ago,” he said. “We have six months of training and then we’re allowed to schedule volunteer shifts like the one I'm on.”

Kyungsoo studied the grooves and marks in the desk, carved over the years by volunteers who listened as omegas poured out their feelings. He was uncertain why the desk was still intact, why the marks didn't result in holes. Running his fingers in a deep groove that was now so old that it felt smoothed and polished, he guessed that it was because they were spread all around so that one carving never got too deep.

“You've had a tough day, how would you feel about me singing to you?” asked Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo began the same soothing song he sang each time he encountered an omega that needed comfort. Traditionally, members of a wolf’s pack would snuggle, groom, and sing to them. Those actions were essential for maintaining a wolf’s health, but moving out of packs and into urban places as the country industrialized meant that many modern wolves lived alone. 

If left without a support network, mate, or family, wolves develop symptoms that resemble tuberculosis. Their bodies will attack the lungs, causing them to cough up blood and prevent them from breathing well. The lack of oxygen in their blood will harm other organs. Eventually, it can result in death. 

In the wake of a public health crisis, wolf reformers founded charitable support centers like Angels for Omegas that sought to provide relief and stop the disastrous effects of unmoored urban life. Apps meant to provide digital comfort and grooming reminders emerged in recent years along with virtual snuggle pillows, but some wolves found a good old telephone call with a real wolf more helpful. Paid services with video chat popped up, but non-profit, free phone lines persisted on a shoestring budget thanks to volunteers.

Kyungsoo would imagine an omega in pain when he sang so the tune would be more effective, but the image was never generic. 

Always in his mind was an omega with tired eyes who rode the whole way home with his hands tucked under his thighs, slouching to appear smaller after an encounter that told him once again that he was less than good enough by virtue of his birth. A big frame folded small, but with a pounding, giant heart that wouldn't accept the status quo. A wolf who made him want to be better, to make a better world.

Toward the end of his shift, approaching 2am, another call came through to his desk.

“Angels for Omegas Hotline. Tell me your story,” said Kyungsoo.

“Hello? I...I’m not entirely sure why I called,” said the voice.

“Sometimes we’re pulled by a force much bigger than we can imagine,” said Kyungsoo. “Don't let doubts hold you back from sharing what you need to get off your chest.”

The voice sighed.

“I met someone today,” the voice said. “Someone I've met before. Someone I've thought a lot about,” the voice said.

“Was it a happy meeting?” asked Kyungsoo.

“It was anticlimactic,” said the voice. “I built it up in my mind for so many years, worked so hard to get to the point I could meet them again as someone worth knowing, and they seemed not to remember me.”

“That sounds difficult,” said Kyungsoo, suddenly thinking of a mostly full takeout cup of English Breakfast Tea sitting on a desk untouched the whole day.

“I can't force them to remember me if I'm not worth remembering, but I just wonder what I did to get so forgettable,” said the voice.

“I'm sure you're worth remembering,” murmured Kyungsoo.

“I clearly don’t mean to them what they mean to me. I was sure…” the voice trailed off. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, you’re really easy to talk to.”

“Thank you,” said Kyungsoo. “This is a place where you can let it all out.”

“I really imagined that this was it for me,” said the voice in a rush. “That he’d-they’d open their arms, I’d walk closer, and — poof — we would magnetize together and never part again. It’s a childish thought, now that I say it out loud.”

“It’s a dream many wolves have,” said Kyungsoo, tracing the grooves.

“I’m glad you’re not telling me to give it up,” said the voice.

“Love isn’t something to give up on,” said Kyungsoo softly.

“But I'm just like a thousand other guys. Omega guys, I guess,” said the voice.

“I doubt that very much,” said Kyungsoo. “I recently saw someone I'd met before, but held back out of respect. I wanted to let them have a fresh start and thrive without the burden of thinking back to some unhappy memories. Their intentions might have been good, just carried out in a way that unintentionally hurt you.”

“Am I the only one who feels like they're sailing without a map?” asked the voice. “You say that and it makes a lot of sense, but in the moment I could only hear the hurt yelling in my head.”

Kyungsoo chuckled. “It's entirely possible to feel lost at points. Sometimes acknowledging that feeling is a way to be open to things that might help you get un-lost, un-stuck.”

“I woke up in the middle of the night after falling asleep thinking about him earlier. I can't live like this,” said the voice. “We’re going to see each other a lot.”

“What will you do?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I dunno, jump him in the hallway at work?” said the voice.

Kyungsoo laughed uncontrollably, his normal sense of restraint loosened by exhaustion.

“You won’t get in trouble?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I might,” the voice said. “I’m not sure that I’ll care enough about that to stop myself in the future.”

“A wolf on a mission,” said Kyungsoo, “so cute.”

The wolf on the other end of the call whined.

“Ahh, sorry, I’m not supposed to talk like that,” said Kyungsoo.

“I want to be called cute,” said the voice.

“Would you like me to sing you back to sleep?” asked Kyungsoo. “Sometimes enough sleep and a tune can help one wake up feeling better.”

“Please,” said the voice cutely.

Kyungsoo downed the last, lukewarm drops of his Red Bull and hummed to start.

“I’ll sing my favorite tune for you if you promise to lay this worry down for the night and get some rest,” said Kyungsoo.

“I can do that,” said the voice.

“Have you groomed yourself yet?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I took a shower and I'll brush my hair as you sing,” said the voice.

The best solution to the need for grooming, singing, and snuggles was obviously being mated to or at least dating a wolf that looked after one’s needs. But the demands of work and modern life meant that most wolves suffered from loneliness and some degree of poor health. Alphas and betas found it easier to get the affection they needed due to assertiveness, but the inherent danger of being an omega only multiplied when asking for necessary wolf comforting from strangers.

When Kyungsoo sang, it wasn't just a pop tune, but a donation of love that would safely sustain a fellow member of the species. His song, like every wolf’s song, was specific to him and would have greater impact on his loved ones. All the same, a song from the heart was better than no song, and some wolves lived into old age without hearing the tune perfect for them.

The voice on the other end of the phone had heard their perfect tune, _that one_ , before.

“Do...Kyungsoo?” asked the voice.

Kyungsoo trailed off.

“Who is this?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I'm your mate,” said the voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I suffered more than the characters while writing this! Suffice to say, I shot my pining load in this chapter and it's time to get back to fluff/crack. Many thanks to [indigomini](http://archiveofourown.org/users/indigomini) for reading this and untangling my lost ass.^^
> 
> Tag yourself in the comments. I’m Yixing, the ideas person who is pretty checked out (due to mentally writing fic at work).


	6. That Gouda Gouda

When Jongin arrived at work on his second day, he immediately noticed that something was different about his desk. The plastic model car with a knot dysfunction pill maker’s logo on it that Moonkyu seemed to have left was gone. In place of the car was a plastic bag gathered with a thin rubber band, labeled “Jongin”.

Heart beating double time and already on edge, he removed the band and opened the plastic bag. Inside was a locking plastic container with thinly sliced cheese. Jongin opened the box and smelled. Gouda.

Eyes opening in wonder, he studied the box, admired the carefulness of the cuts. Every piece was uniform. He took one piece out of the box and chewed on it while looking around to see if he was being watched.

After sampling one piece, he snapped the box back together, wrapped it in plastic, and reattached the rubber band, carefully stowing it in the back corner of his desk, behind his monitor. He logged into his computer and walked to the pantry as his desktop loaded, telling himself that he was going to get his morning La Croix.

Jongin walked past Kyungsoo’s office, the door half open and the main light off. Just a floor lamp was on, giving the room a yellowy glow. Jongin almost closed the door, thinking it had been left open accidentally, when he saw that Kyungsoo was actually sleeping on his desk, his hair spilling into his eyes.

No choice, Jongin told himself, he had no choice in the matter and he needed to make sure that Kyungsoo was ok. What if something had happened and he was unwell? He needed to get closer to make sure Kyungsoo was breathing.

He rounded to Kyungsoo’s side of the desk and saw his back rise and fall evenly. Now, without any excuses, Jongin struggled. He was at work and this was his colleague, but it was also–oh fuck it, he thought and tentatively reached his hand out to run it through Kyungsoo’s hair, brushing it from his eyes.

“Will you do near my neck?” asked Kyungsoo quietly without moving. “I have a headache and I think it would help.”

Jongin fought the urge to jump back out of shock that Kyungsoo was awake and instead moved his hand to groom near Kyungsoo’s nape.

“So you know me now?” asked Jongin.

“Yeah, looks like my initial plan was bad,” said Kyungsoo.

“It was a Bad Plan, yes,” said Jongin, patting the back of Kyungsoo’s head. “Almost as bad as nearly fumbling the phone when I told you that you're my–”

“Listen, that's kind of _big information_ to get over the phone,” said Kyungsoo.

“Oh well, it slipped out, deal with it,” said Jongin.

“You're still mad that I kept a respectful, professional distance yesterday, I see,” said Kyungsoo.

“Umm, surely rules about professional distance don't apply when you're talking about m–”

“I have no idea,” said Kyungsoo, “we've never had this situation before given the office makeup. The rule book says–”

“Oh the rule book?” asked Jongin, pinching gently on Kyungsoo's nape. “Tell me more about what happens if I break the rules.”

“That feels good, but you're really not an expert in this, are you?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Flirting? I kind of am,” said Jongin.

“No, I mean grooming,” said Kyungsoo.

“My family wasn't big on touch,” said Jongin.

“You'll have to learn,” said Kyungsoo. “But I get the sense that you want to.”

Jongin nodded yes, his heart in his throat.

Voices came closer to Kyungsoo’s door, or more likely, the pantry.

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin down to the floor next to his desk gently so he sat on folded knees behind it, leaning against the drawers.

Jongin looked up at him with wide eyes, blushing when he instinctively glanced at the zipper on Kyungsoo’s dress casual khakis.

Kyungsoo turned to stare at his monitor blankly while allowing his left arm to trail down until his hand touched Jongin’s shoulder. Without looking, he moved it up and began to stroke through Jongin’s thick brown hair.

Jongin silently wiggled closer, tentatively laying his head on Kyungsoo’s knee. In return, Kyungsoo gently raked his nails over Jongin’s scalp in a way that left him nearly ecstatic.

“What am I going to do with you?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin, blissed out, responded without thinking, “love me.”

Kyungsoo chuckled and kept grooming. “You’re really not holding anything back.”

“You try to hold back when your mate is petting you,” said Jongin. “I’m not leaving by the way.”

“What are we going to do about work then?” asked Kyungsoo.

“At the moment, I'm not sure I particularly care,” said Jongin, his head lolling to the side. “I'm just getting my daily wolf supplements, don't take this personally. It's for my health.”

Rubbing behind Jongin’s ear, Kyungsoo asked, “what do you have on the to do list today?”

“Sell sex stuff,” said Jongin, his eyes closed in bliss.

There was a loud thump from the pantry across the hall.

“Soo, can you order more Pamplemousse?” yelled Baekhyun into Kyungsoo’s office from the doorway.

“I got you,” said Kyungsoo, lightly tugging on Jongin’s hair to elicit a low hum.

Baekhyun walked closer. “Why is your light off?” he asked.

“Headache,” said Kyungsoo.

“What was that noise?” asked Baekhyun.

“Tea kettle,” said Kyungsoo.

“Do you want some-” 

“No, no, I’m quite fine,” said Kyungsoo, panicking as Jongin began to rub his face on his knee.

“I can't believe you, Soo,” said Baekhyun, entering the office.

“Believe me?” asked Kyungsoo, attempting to keep his voice even.

“I'm salty about everything at this shitshow, but do you know what I'm saltiest about?” asked Baekhyun, advancing on the desk. 

Kyungsoo tensed. “Uhh what…?”

Baekhyun slapped his hands on the faux wood veneer top, leaning forward.

“You have this giant goddamn desk, an office door that closes and locks, and you're the last person in this place that would ever sneak someone in for some workday knot-throating,” said Baekhyun. “What a waste.”

Jongin froze. Kyungsoo froze. The floor lamp flickered like it was connected to Kyungsoo’s twitching eye.

“Anyway, Pamplemousse,” said Baekhyun, turning, tapping the doorframe to reinforce his point, and walking out of Kyungsoo’s office.

Jongin stayed absolutely still as Kyungsoo turned to his computer and attempted to look like he was working as normal.

“Do you have Slack on your phone?” asked Kyungsoo under his breath.

Jongin pulled his phone from his pants and opened the app.

Kyungsoo: I’m going to check that the coast is clear, shut my door, and then you come out like we’ve been having a brief discussion about your employment documents.

Jongin: ok. Does anybody read Slack DMs, by the way?

Kyungsoo: That would require our office having a management structure. Nobody actually wants to do the work of leading, but if you mention it even once, there will be a battle royale in the video conference room.

Kyungsoo: We still have a head-size hole in the wall from the last time it was discussed.

Kyungsoo: :skull:

Jongin: :eyes:

Kyungsoo walked around Jongin and casually checked in both directions before shutting the door. Jongin saw the ok message on Slack and popped out from behind the desk, brushing off his knees quickly as he walked.

When Jongin reached Kyungsoo, he stood a little closer than was normal, looked a little longer at his lips than was normal.

“I’ll...let you out now,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin nodded his head yes and stepped back, his cheeks and ears still flushed from all the attention.

“You need to look less...alive,” said Kyungsoo, surveying Jongin’s appearance.

“I'm sorry?” asked Jongin.

“Nobody is _that_ happy to be here. You're going to stand out because you look like a fresh flower,” said Kyungsoo. “Try to wilt a little to fit in.”

“How?” asked Jongin.

“I don't know...think about sad things like existential dread and quarterly reports,” said Kyungsoo. “Audits.”

“I feel really good because I met my mate again,” said Jongin, gesturing between them, “and my job doesn't involve that stuff, I just write and research.”

“How do you know we’re mates by the way?” asked Kyungsoo. 

“I heard you sing?” said Jongin. “Stop trying to make this hard, it’s not.”

“Yeah, but I haven't heard you sing, what if the voice that comes out isn't that of my mate,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin looked down at Kyungsoo, upset and puzzled.

“You didn’t believe that mates are automatically paired, did you?” asked Kyungsoo. “How would we have whole bodies of tragic literature where everyone ends up dead unless the universe fucked up occasionally?”

“The universe didn’t…” said Jongin, his lips mashing together as they held back a frustrated scream.

“Sing now, let’s put this to rest and we can just walk out and tell everyone,” said Kyungsoo, with a teasing voice. “Might as well get it over with and make sure this isn't one-sided.”

“My family wasn't big on singing,” said Jongin. “I'm kind of not able to do it.”

“No touch, no singing, how did you grow so tall?” asked Kyungsoo, reaching up to tidy Jongin’s hair.

“I found people to take care of me,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo growled softly and crowded Jongin into the closed door.

“Jealous?” asked Jongin, his heart lifting.

“I was reacting to some dust I saw floating through the air,” said Kyungsoo. “I prefer my office clean.”

“You have fun keeping your office clean,” said Jongin, using his shoulder to playfully push Kyungsoo away.

“Have fun selling sex stuff,” said Kyungsoo.

“Have fun calculating our age difference while processing my paperwork, _hyung_ ,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo’s eyes closed in defeat, his head nodding while opening the door. It was going to be awhile before Jongin forgave him for his original Bad Plan.


	7. Double Down There

“Why do we schedule these meetings in the morning?” asked Junmyeon, stretching carefully so as not to spill his Sam Adams.

Jongin fumbled for his phone. Nope, he was right, it was 1pm; the inmates of his office just pretended like they lived in another time zone and/or dimension.

The screen in the conference room lowered and Luhan’s face flickered on it.

“Where's the rest of the crew?” Chanyeol asked the screen, walking in with a laptop.

“Tao and Kris sprained their dicks this morning testing those experimental knot prolonging sleeves Yixing sent,” said Luhan, swirling his giant iced coffee.

Jongin choked on his La Croix for a second before covering with a fairly embarrassing high bark.

“Alright, and Baek is heaving his guts up,” said Chanyeol. He turned to Jongin conspiratorially, “don't go to the Chipotle across the street even if you have a drunkfoodstagram that needs content, this is real basic shit. I don't know how Baek managed to reach adulthood with survival skills like that.”

“Lured by the queso?” asked Jongin.

“Ding fucking dong,” said Chanyeol. “No cheese research is worth that kind of anguish. Dude went off for a La Croix this morning and next we knew he was trapped in the loo, Slacking us very unasked for updates on his condition and trying to keep up with email while hugging a toilet seat.”

At the mention of cheese, Jongin hopped up and dashed off to grab the gouda from his desk. He slid into the ergonomic chair in the back corner next to the surprisingly large hole in the wall as Luhan called everyone to order 15 minutes after the start time on the calendar invite Baekhyun had sent from the bathroom that morning.

“Ok, looks like we have a problem with the upcoming Chute-Buster launch,” said Luhan. “We need to figure this out so our Q3 numbers come in ok.”

“I thought we were on track once we subbed in the parable lube?” asked Junmyeon.

“Didn't you see Jongin’s message toward the end of the day yesterday that omegas he talked to really didn't like the name?” asked Chanyeol.

“I might not be in the Chute-Buster channel, can someone add me?” asked Junmyeon.

“The wolves with omegism that I talked to were really not happy about the name. In light of some recent cases of violence against street omegas that haven't received much attention, they felt like the name contributed to,” said Jongin, pulling up the comments on his post to get the best quote, “a ‘culture that promotes sexual violence against omegas and fetishization of our bodies while silencing our voices.’”

“Is ‘chute’ the problem or is it ‘buster’?” asked Luhan thoughtfully.

“It's ‘buster’, right?” said Junmyeon. “We wouldn't sell a box called ‘Knot Splitter’-”

Everyone in the conference room and Luhan on video grimaced.

“Yeah, that's not ideal, but also ‘chute’ isn't really a term these wolves felt reflected the biology and culture of omegas favorably,” said Jongin diplomatically.

“What about...pussy stretcher?” asked Junmyeon.

“I don't-” said Jongin, blanching with embarrassment.

“Pussy is too gendered,” said Luhan, slurping on his drink. “We don't want to fragment our audience by unnecessarily alienating them.”

“What's even in the box?” asked Jongin, recovering from nearly needing to give a 30-minute lecture on gender versus status.

“Regular UltraSlick, some anal anchors for knotting prep, a dildo made to look like a fist, a dual dicks dildo, and a good old XXL dildo with cumtube,” said Chanyeol, counting off the items on his hand as he named them. “Oh, yeah, and a bonus anal plug if they preorder before the official launch day.”

Jongin opened his box of cheese and chewed on a piece thoughtfully.

“So it's stretching, prepping, opening,” said Yixing, suddenly showing up and talking out loud as he wandered into the room. “Chanyeol?”

“Um, stret-oh, you said that, uhh, gaping, hole, black hole, wet,” said Chanyeol. “Luhan?”

“Tight fit, perfect fit, snug fit, training,” said Luhan. “Junmyeon.”

“Training teacher, hot for teacher, schoolgirl, uhh...pass,” said Junmyeon. “Jongin.”

Jongin swallowed his cheese, buying time to think up some contributions for the impromptu brainstorming session. “Opening Ceremony, Touch Down There, Double Down There,” said Jongin. “What about that, Double Down There?”

“Possible copyright issues,” said Luhan. “KFC doesn't fuck around, trust me, even if their Double Down is a chicken sandwich and technically not a sex toy. Their lawyers might dispute that. The Colonel scares me, don't bring him on us.”

“What about...‘Super Stretch Kit?’” Jongin asked. 

The room and Luhan murmured favorably.

“Is that going to play ok with our omega consumer?” asked Chanyeol.

“I think so,” said Jongin. “I mean, there are always those wolves who think that corporations should have no role in our sexuality, but they're not going to buy from us anyway. This would tap into an underserved community of omegas and their partners that are into more extreme toy sizes and allow them to sample a range for our bundle price. This might not be a runaway bestseller like the classic Knot Boxes, but I think it could do well with a niche audience.”

“Would you buy this?” asked Luhan.

“Uhh…” said Jongin, stalling to think of how to respond.

“You can't say that shit, dumbass,” said Yixing, “or Kyungsoo is gonna split your knot open.”

“Why is that?” asked Jongin, trying not to look too interested.

“He's in charge of Status Harassment prevention, you've met him, right?” asked Yixing.

“Oh, him, yeah,” said Jongin, deflating a little.

“We know there's a market for these because we get asked repeatedly on social about getting some bigger toys in the mix as an option all the time, we just need to connect that audience to our product,” said Junmyeon. “And ideally not make those people hate us.”

“I don't think people would hate that name,” said Jongin. “How do you guys feel?”

“Like I want to-” said Luhan before his video feed went staticky and the signal was lost.

“Yeah, mainly that,” said Chanyeol, “blshdhhdhhshd,” mimicking the sound of static.

“Cool, so let’s go ice our boners and I'll work on getting replacement labels with the new name made,” said Junmyeon. “Great meeting!”

Jongin snapped his box of cheese back together and wandered out to his desk, slipping the container back behind his monitor before logging into his desktop and checking Slack.

“Hello, Jongin,” said Sehun, rolling his chair over to lightly bump into Jongin’s.

“Hi, Sehun, what's up?”

“I need you to wear something for a live video we’re doing on social,” said Sehun, slipping a band on his wrist.

“What is this?” asked Jongin.

Sehun held up a hand while mounting a phone on a small tripod.

“And we're live,” said Sehun, backing away so he sat shoulder to shoulder with Jongin.

“Hi guys, it's Sehun here inside Wolf Pack headquarters. Today I'm joined by our new team member Jongin.”

Jongin waved at the phone while showing his teeth in an approximation of a smile.

“Jongin has volunteered,” said Sehun, Jongin’s eyebrows raising slightly, “to wear the new HeatSeeker cycle tracking band for this video.”

Jongin looked at the band warily.

“The HeatSeeker band will monitor your biometric processes and tell you when your heat is due next!” said Sehun. “It has sensors built in to pick up on things like body temperature, sweat, and hormones -- all without being invasive.”

Sehun turned slightly toward Jongin. “How does the band feel?”

“Umm, it feels fine,” said Jongin.

“When is your next heat?” said Sehun, fiddling with his phone.

Jongin’s mouth went dry. “In...three months, I think?”

“So true story: the band says it's happening in two and a half months, not three,” said Sehun, showing the phone screen to the camera. “Good to know, right?”

“Yes,” said Jongin, sliding the band off quickly while looking for a way to get away from the camera without causing a scene. He fidgeted and stopped making eye contact.

“If you have any questions about the HeatSeeker band, let us know, we’ll be happy to answer them or pass them along to the company. They're currently seeking funding for this project on WolfStarter, and you can invest to get your own HeatSeeker band,” said Sehun. “Before we take off, lemme respond to some of your questions as best as possible.”

Jongin pulled his sleeves over his hands and shifted in his seat.

“Oh, here's a questions: who’s Jongin, he's cute,” said Sehun, reading from the screen.

“Thanks,” said Sehun, absentmindedly petting Jongin’s hair, “he's a researcher and writer here at Wolf Pack.”

Jongin slouched in his chair.

“Here's another: will you be doing any live heat updates of Jongin, maybe testing toys on him?” read Sehun as he laughed nervously. 

“Well, that's all the time we-” 

A door banged open and Kyungsoo walked out quickly, zeroing in on the camera and motioning across his neck for Sehun to turn it off.

Sehun lunged for the camera and tapped at the recording button to kill the live feed.

“Wait, I need to upload the video-” said Sehun.

“Delete it,” said Kyungsoo with an air of finality while seeming to tower over them. “And join me in my office.”

Sehun followed Kyungsoo with his head down, not even bothering to whine about what would no doubt be a long, stern lecture and write-up.

Jongin tried to turn back to his desk and check his email, but his body was buzzing in the wake of the public humiliation of having his cycle discussed live in front of Wolf Pack’s large social media following. He kept typing his password incorrectly and eventually pushed away from his desk and went to the bathroom.

Slipping into a stall, Jongin put down the lid and took a seat, yanking his phone out of his pants for a few minutes of scrolling through Twitter to chill and stuff his feelings back inside until he could go home at the end of the work day.

He was a few seconds into a video of his favorite baby otter when he heard hacking in the stall next to him.

“Hey can you pass me some toilet paper?” asked the voice. “I ran out.”

“Baekhyun?” asked Jongin, trying to open the dispenser so he could pass his sick colleague a whole roll.

“Yeah,” said Baekhyun glumly.

“Sorry about the queso,” said Jongin.

“I think it was the burrito, to be honest,” said Baekhyun. “All the same when it's coming up anyway.”

“Do you need anything else?” asked Jongin. “La Croix?”

“I have a bottled water,” said Baekhyun, “but thanks.”

Jongin stuck the roll of toilet paper under the partition and passed it to Baekhyun.

“Well, I hope you feel better, man, that sucks,” said Jongin.

“Can you tell the guys to bring me some rut replenishment supplies? I feel like I'm low on electrolytes by now,” said Baekhyun.

“Of course,” said Jongin while washing his hands and leaving, still on edge.

He exited to find Kyungsoo walking Sehun out of his office and Jongdae sitting in Jongin's own chair while chewing on something and driving the knot dysfunction pill car on his lap.

“Hey Jongdae,” said Jongin.

“Did you realize that we have almost the same name?” asked Jongdae. “Kim Jong.”

“Oh yeah,” said Jongin, trying to pretend to be excited about the fairly obvious revelation after a fairly trying day.

“Anyway, I was thinking that maybe we’re 66.67% percent the same,” said Jongdae, “so I tried your chair and your cheese.”

Jongin’s hearing went out slightly and his vision dimmed. He could make out the empty plastic container, the lid unsnapped, sitting on his desk, and he momentarily glanced at Jongdae’s throat to see which place would be the best for starting in on the process of ripping it out. 

He felt a hand on the small of his back, so brief he wondered if he imagined it. Jongin’s phone vibrated in his pocket.

He went back to focusing on Jongdae and the rolling car, planning his attack for just a few moments more.

The phone buzzed again. Sighing, Jongin took it out to see who was texting him.

It was a Slack message, a direct message from the only person with alerts still active; everyone else could send a message without setting off a buzz. Jongin opened the app.

Kyungsoo: hey

Kyungsoo: Hey! There are five more minutes in the work day.

Kyungsoo: I have more cheese.

Kyungsoo: I will give you more cheese.

Kyungsoo: I can do wonderful things with cheese. Back away from the idiot, I can't make you wonderful things out of cheese if I have to do workplace assault paperwork.

Jongin took a small step back.

Jongin: today

Kyungsoo: ??

Jongin: cheese today

Kyungsoo: Yes, I’ll give you cheese today

Kyungsoo: After work

Kyungsoo: step back more

Jongin: at your house

Kyungsoo: You want cheese at my house?

Jongin: cheese at your house

Kyungsoo: Yes, yes, cheese at my house, let's go.

Jongin grabbed the empty container from his desk and his bag before happily skipping out the door of the office toward the parking lot.


	8. Real

“You got a new car,” said Jongin as Kyungsoo pulled out of the lot at work.

“Yeah, I used to have one that my mom owned-” said Kyungsoo.

“I remember,” said Jongin.

“Oh, yeah, you…” Kyungsoo paused, not wanting to bring up a bad memory.

Jongin beamed. “You drove me home in your car once,” he said.

“You remember that,” said Kyungsoo, tapping the wheel lightly due to nervous energy.

“It was an important moment for me,” said Jongin.

“It...was?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Yeah, after that I declared a major and started going to class,” said Jongin.

“Wow, maybe I should have kept that car,” said Kyungsoo. “I had no idea it was so influential.”

“Yeah, the speech your car gave me about getting my shit together makes me really miss it,” said Jongin. “Maybe we can visit its parts at the junkyard sometime.”

Kyungsoo pushed lightly at Jongin’s head while keeping his eyes fixed on the road.

“Do you want anything special for dinner?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Just...whatever,” said Jongin, a bit breathless.

“Ok, let’s skip the store and go home,” said Kyungsoo. “Sometimes I run into guys from work at the store, and it might be a bit awkward to explain what's up.”

“What's up,” Jongin echoed softly.

“Yeah, what's up,” said Kyungsoo, his voice trailing off.

They rode in silence until Kyungsoo turned on the radio, tuned into the Mary J. Blige station. Kyungsoo hummed along to familiar songs and Jongin relaxed in the passenger seat, reclined quite a bit back after the last time the China team visited and Tao needed a lift back to the hotel after trying to mix two bottles of soju with some wushu moves.

Kyungsoo pulled up to a bungalow and started to get out of the car until he realized Jongin wasn't moving. Looking over, he saw that Jongin had fallen asleep in the course of the short ride despite seeming excited to visit.

“Time to go inside,” said Kyungsoo softly while unbuckling Jongin’s seatbelt and helping ease it off.

“I guess I've not been sleeping well,” said Jongin groggily.

He followed Kyungsoo into the house, trading his shoes for slippers at the door and hanging his bag on the coat rack at the entrance.

“Come on in,” said Kyungsoo. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Pretty much anything other than La Croix,” said Jongin, looking around at the house.

“What do you think?” asked Kyungsoo.

“About your house?” asked Jongin.

Kyungsoo nodded his head, a little shy.

Jongin silently walked out of the foyer and into the living room, touching the walls and couch and photo frames as he went as if he was memorizing everything. He reached the overstuffed arm chair Kyungsoo had bought when he was promoted to Wolf Resources after graduating. His fingers brushed over the eyeglasses on the table next to the chair and ran up the spines of the manhwa stacked on it.

Kyungsoo shivered like it was his spine Jongin was tracing.

Backing away, Kyungsoo wandered into the kitchen next to the living room and poured Jongin a glass of water from the dispenser in the door of his fridge.

The word that hung in the air but neither dared speak was “real.” Suddenly things were very real, as tangible as the books on the table. To flirt and banter at the office, kiss in a car, confess over the phone, and comfort in DMs was one thing. But to cross the threshold of a house and see traces of an inner life was something altogether different. Done too soon and the view might cause something delicate and growing to wither and collapse when hit with a gust of reality that could have been survived later. Done too late and the real person found within the walls might not compare to their public persona and the private fantasy version built up in the mind of their would-be love.

To enter the house of one’s intended mate seems easy. Those staying for just a night might have done it so many times before you, but there you are, engaging in an intricate dance on wood and carpeted floors, trying to take in everything while maintaining eye contact and continually rebalancing your view of the person you knew before you took off your shoes at the door. Every photo, every stray souvenir feels like the key to unlocking all of them and answering the question: do I really love you?

“Is that for me?” asked Jongin, who must have silently approached.

Kyungsoo handed the glass over. Their fingers brushed for the briefest moment.

Jongin tipped back the glass and drank it all down in one go.

Setting the glass on the counter, he said, “thanks, I was thirsty.” Kyungsoo couldn’t stop looking at the water that had collected at the corners of Jongin’s mouth; he was unable to look away, but unable to move forward and brush it off.

“You promised me cheese, _hyung_ ,” said Jongin.

“I did,” said Kyungsoo. “Since you're a baby, I'm going to make you macaroni and cheese, is that ok?”

“I love it,” said Jongin, his fluffy hair bouncing.

Kyungsoo took butter, milk, and cheese out of the fridge and pulled flour and macaroni from the cupboards along with a few spices Jongin couldn't make out.

“Do you really think I'm such a baby?” asked Jongin.

Kyungsoo pulled a large stock pot out of a cupboard and filled it with water, sprinkling in a generous dash of salt from a ceramic box next to the stove. He lit the gas and set the water on to boil.

“Grate this cheese,” said Kyungsoo, handing Jongin a small grater, a wrapped block of cheddar, and a plastic cutting board.

Jongin got to work, grating with immense concentration.

“I don't think you're a baby,” said Kyungsoo, turning back to the stove, watching as bubbles started to form in the water. “Maybe I just want to protect you even though you're older now.”

“I can handle myself,” said Jongin.

“That's the confusing part,” said Kyungsoo, “because I know you can.”

Jongin finished his work and pushed the cutting board with the pile of cheddar toward the stove. By then, the water in the stockpot was boiling and Kyungsoo poured the macaroni in. He emptied a small carton of milk into a saucepan already on the stove and turned the burner on medium-low.

Grabbing a sauté pan, Kyungsoo quickly turned the heat on medium and tossed a knob of butter and equal bit of flour in, then stirred it with a whisk. He scooped the scent of the bubbling, lightly browning mixture toward his nose.

“It smells nutty once it's ready,” said Kyungsoo over his shoulder, flinching in surprise to find that Jongin was right there.

Jongin leaned forward so he crowded into Kyungsoo’s space to smell the roux.

Breathing in a steady way meant to calm himself, Kyungsoo grabbed a ladle and began adding warm milk to the nutty paste. 

“You stir,” said Kyungsoo, handing Jongin the whisk.

Jongin slowly stirred, his left side up against Kyungsoo's right, every motion gentle so as not to splash milk out of the pan. Once the sauce thickened and bubbled, Kyungsoo dashed in a bit of nutmeg and ground mustard along with salt.

“Here's where the magic happens,” said Kyungsoo, lowering the temperature of the sauce as he placed a strainer in the sink then tipped the contents of the stock pot into it. Turning back to the stove, Kyungsoo tossed handfuls of cheese into the sauce, stirring as he added. The béchamel sauce turned gooey, strings forming as the cheese transmuted into something extra creamy and rich. 

“Bring the strainer over,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin carried it to him, then Kyungsoo spooned the noodles into the pan and stirred to coat them.

“Grab a fork if you want a taste,” said Kyungsoo.

Two forks in hand, Jongin walked back to Kyungsoo’s side. Kyungsoo took both, spearing some macaroni on each, and tried to hand one to Jongin.

Kyungsoo looked down and saw that Jongin’s hand was clutching the hem of his own shirt. 

“Feed me,” said Jongin, opening his mouth.

“Ok, big baby,” said Kyungsoo, hovering the fork so Jongin could lean forward and eat.

“What do you think?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin’s eyes remained closed. “I think I'm in love with you,” he said.

Laughing, Kyungsoo reached up for bowls. “If you keep saying things like that to random alphas, someday someone is going to take you seriously.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jongin.

“I know you younger wolves are prone to hyperbole like ‘OMG dead’ or ‘I'm screaming’ when you're very much alive and straight-faced, but for us old folks, it might not always register the same way. People might think you're serious,” said Kyungsoo, scooping some into each bowl.

Jongin accepted his bowl and fork, waiting for Kyungsoo to show him where they should sit. Motioning toward the living room, Kyungsoo walked to the couch and took a seat.

“Is this ok?” asked Kyungsoo. “I usually wouldn’t use cheddar, at least not just cheddar, but it’s what I had here…”

Jongin nodded his head yes and sat next to Kyungsoo, their thighs touching since the couch sank a bit in the middle. They balanced their bowls on their laps and ate in silence aside from bits of conversation between bites.

“It's so good,” said Jongin. “I should thank Sehun.”

“Urgh, sorry about that, by the way,” said Kyungsoo. “His written apology will be on your desk tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks for stepping in,” said Jongin. “I shouldn't be embarrassed about biology or dumb people online, but...it still sucks.”

“This shouldn't be an issue at work,” said Kyungsoo. “Or anywhere, for that matter. The band company feels bad about the whole thing by the way and I believe they're sending you a package.”

Jongin thought of having to wear a band to track his heats and cringed.

“Why are these developments always on the heat side of things and not the rut?” asked Jongin.

Kyungsoo looked up in surprise. “No, but this company has a rut version, too, I'm testing it,” he said, rolling up his dress shirt to show the band just above his wrist. “We might end up selling both.”

Jongin stared at the black band running perpendicular to the veins and tendons in Kyungsoo’s arm, wondering what secrets it contained.

“Is it accurate?” asked Jongin, scooping in another mouthful.

“Dunno,” said Kyungsoo, “I’ll find out in a bit, I guess.”

A thousand questions went unasked as Jongin and Kyungsoo finished their dinner in peace.

Collecting the bowls, Kyungsoo hopped off the couch.

Sensing that the visit was coming to a close, Jongin said, “it’s not hyperbole.”

“Hmm?” said Kyungsoo.

“It's not hyperbole,” said Jongin, staring at the easychair. “I'm just not one to...I'm really direct about these things.”

Kyungsoo walked closer.

“What are ‘these things?’” he asked.

“Communication and feelings between wolves should be,” Jongin sighed, “they should be forthright. I don't believe in holding things back due to silly rules.”

“I always figured that since you were so direct that you were just playing,” said Kyungsoo. “That it didn't mean anything.”

Jongin licked his lips, standing frozen. “Quite the opposite,” he said.

“Then that means…” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin nodded.

Kyungsoo robotically walked into his bedroom and then back out.

“You should sit,” said Kyungsoo, “on the couch.”

Jongin followed his instructions, bracing for rejection.

“No, no, turn so you face the armrest,” said Kyungsoo. “I know it's weird, just, yeah, like that.”

Jongin settled in and Kyungsoo walked up behind him. Placing one hand on the top of Jongin’s head, he began to brush Jongin’s hair.

Jongin excitedly looked back, his eyes wide and glossy. “You understand?”

Kyungsoo nodded yes and clumsily kept brushing despite the fact Jongin kept moving his head due to excitement.

Frustrated that he was sitting with his back to his mate, Jongin hopped up and then sat back down, now straddling Kyungsoo’s lap so they sat face to face.

“Are you ok with it?” asked Jongin.

“I should ask if you’re ok with it, I'm not the bright young one getting tied down,” said Kyungsoo.

The seam on the shoulder of Kyungsoo’s shirt seemed to swim for a moment. “I've been kind of in love with you since, like, two seconds after I came of age,” said Jongin. “This isn't me at my youngest. Nothing about this is sad to me.”

Kyungsoo cradled Jongin’s jaw, now sharper and with a little end-of-day stubble.

“When did you get so grown up?” asked Kyungsoo, his eyes full of shocked wonder, as if he was seeing the adult Jongin for the first time.

“I've been here,” said Jongin, “it was you who was stuck back there.”

“I knew, but also I didn't,” said Kyungsoo. “The levels of knowing could have kept me frozen forever unless you pushed.”

“I get what I want,” said Jongin.

“What do you want?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I want you to love me,” responded Jongin immediately, his voice just above a whisper.

His eyes shifting to Jongin’s lips again involuntarily, Kyungsoo nodded yes. “I can do that,” he said. “Most certainly. But isn't love something that happens over time?”

Jongin looked confused. “Sure, I guess, but imagine my surprise when I found my mate young, kept crossing paths with him, and he turned out to be an actual good wolf. I'm willing to dive in and let it grow over time. You don't have six dead wives stuffed in the closet do you?”

Kyungsoo laughed and held up his hands.

“Uhh, you don't have a secret life involving a cannibalism sex fetish that you plan to act on by murdering me, right?” asked Jongin.

“Unless your name is cheese, I have no plans at all to eat you,” said Kyungsoo.

“Love is one of the best ways to smash up a good heart, but being scared of it is no way to live. I've lived too long without it,” said Jongin.

“I don't want you to go without anything,” said Kyungsoo.

“Don't obsess about semantics or overthink what's simple. That's love,” said Jongin.

“What can I do to make you happy?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Right now I want you to snuggle me,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo began to wrap his arms around Jongin’s waist.

“In bed,” said Jongin.

“Don't you think-” said Kyungsoo.

“Don't get the wrong idea,” said Jongin, “its 800% easier to snuggle on a large flat surface than a couch. Trust me, I’d know.”

Kyungsoo gave a low growl.

Jongin stood up and yanked Kyungsoo’s hand to drag him along. “Your bedroom is this way?” asked Jongin.

“Yeah, are we really-”

“Oh, this is nice,” said Jongin, darting inside and looking at the natural wood floors, high ceiling, and fluffy white comforter.

Jongin ran to the bed and belly flopped in the middle of the comforter, the edges inflating with air and settling around him. He made a snow angel motion and then got still as he buried his face in the comforter.

“It smells like you,” said Jongin over his shoulder.

Kyungsoo came to the edge of the bed. “Makes sense,” he said. “Can I…?”

“It's your bed,” said Jongin, wiggling his legs.

Kyungsoo crawled on close to where Jongin lay. 

“We should take a photo together,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo scooted over so he was shoulder to shoulder with Jongin.

Adjusting the phone, Jongin huffed. “I can't get both of us in the shot if we’re like this,” he said. “Crawl on me.”

“I-what?” asked Kyungsoo.

“If you get on top of me, we can both be in the shot, no weird cut-offs,” said Jongin.

“How-”

“Just crawl on,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo awkwardly hovered over Jongin’s body, trying to understand where to put himself when Jongin reached up and pulled his shoulder down, signaling that he should just collapse on top.

“Is this ok?” asked Kyungsoo.

“You feel like one of those weighted blankets people buy on WolfStarter to help with anxiety,” said Jongin, lining up the shot, his chin pressed into the bed and Kyungsoo’s chin hooked over his shoulder.

Kyungsoo squirmed once the photo was taken, then dropped his nose to Jongin’s nape.

“You smell so good,” said Kyungsoo.

Nose and lips drifting over the skin as he sucked up the scent, Kyungsoo was almost delirious.

“How is it so good?” he repeated.

Jongin experimentally pushed his ass back just a little to see if Kyungsoo would respond. 

His hips levering down with finality, Kyungsoo pushed Jongin back against the bed. Jongin let out a shuddering breath, relishing his mate’s gentle but firm control, even if it meant that his half-hard dick would stay trapped against the bed that night.

Kyungsoo spread his arms so Jongin was covered. Burying his face in Jongin's hair, he stopped fidgeting and his breath evened from sleep moments after Jongin’s did the same.


	9. Between first and second sleep

The clock on Kyungsoo’s nightstand read 2:03am when he woke up to Jongin wiggling beneath him.

“I have to pee,” said Jongin, his voice cracking slightly.

Kyungsoo scrambled off, wondering when they had fallen asleep. It must have been before 8.

Jongin stood shakily. “Where is…”

“Ahh, the bathroom, it's right through there,” said Kyungsoo, pointing to the en suite.

Jongin shuffled in slowly.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Kyungsoo tried to convince his heart to slow down from waking up and also waking up on top of Jongin.

Jongin shuffled back out after a few minutes.

“It's late,” said Kyungsoo. “I can drive you back to your car at work or…”

Jongin stared at the floor.

“Or you're welcome to stay here,” said Kyungsoo. “The bed is plenty big and I have enough pillows.”

“If you don't mind, I'll just sleep here,” said Jongin. “I wouldn't want you driving while tired.”

“Yeah, I guess this is safer,” said Kyungsoo, who routinely drove home at this time from his volunteer shifts.

“Would you like to borrow pajamas?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I'm fine just sleeping in underwear and undershirt if you don't mind,” said Jongin.

“Sounds comfortable,” said Kyungsoo, “I'll do that, too.”

Jongin moved to the far side of the bed. Both unbuttoned their dress shirts without looking at each other, pulled off their work pants efficiently, and peeled off their thin socks.

“You can put your clothes on that chair,” said Kyungsoo, sneaking a glance at Jongin while tossing his clothes in the laundry bin.

Jongin draped his shirt and pants over the back of the chair, neatly arranging them so they’d be minimally wrinkled in the morning.

Standing at his side of the bed, Kyungsoo pulled up the comforter and top sheet so he could slide in. Jongin did the same on his side.

“All set?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Yup,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo tapped his phone and the bedroom light turned off with an app.

“Slick,” said Jongin.

“Ultra slick,” said Kyungsoo before laughing at his own joke.

Jongin turned to look at him in the dark. 

A clock audibly ticked somewhere in the house.

“I’m awake,” said Jongin.

“People used to sleep in two segments, before artificial lights,” said Kyungsoo. “They’d go to bed fairly early for first sleep and then wake up in the middle of the night before going back to bed for second sleep.”

“That sounds pointless,” said Jongin. “What did they do between the two, just roll around miserably?”

“No, not at all. They’d get up and visit their neighbors, play cards, read, fuck,” said Kyungsoo, his voice steady.

“So we younger generations exist because some people before the invention of Not Knot Rubbers and lightbulbs had some energy between long nighttime naps?” asked Jongin.

“That’s probably not the only reason,” said Kyungsoo, smoothing the comforter.

“How big is your bed technically?” asked Jongin. “It’s huge for a single wolf.”

“King,” said Kyungsoo. “My older brother gave it to me after he got divorced. I’ve always suspected he found my sister-in-law doing something divorceable in it, but I like my bed and don’t want to ruin it, so I didn’t ask.”

“Understandable. I heard that in Scandinavia, people who share beds have separate comforters,” said Jongin.

“That’s actually brilliant,” said Kyungsoo. “Why don’t we do that?”

“Maybe we’re romantic about sharing body heat,” said Jongin.

“Romantic about that but vile about stealing covers,” said Kyungsoo, suddenly yanking the comforter to tease Jongin.

Jongin tugged back. “Wow, the stoic Kyungsoo plays, who knew,” he said.

“I play!” said Kyungsoo.

“When?” asked Jongin. 

“I dunno, once you get to know me?” said Kyungsoo.

“Get to know me,” said Jongin. “I want to play with you.”

“Fair enough,” said Kyungsoo, blushing in the dark.

The central heating system’s fan kicked on.

“Pet my hair,” said Jongin, “so I can sleep.”

“Haven’t you had enough pets today?” asked Kyungsoo.

“No,” said Jongin.

“Let me share your pillow,” said Kyungsoo, sliding beside Jongin and arranging him on his side, facing away. Jongin submitted to the manhandling quite happily and hummed lightly as he waited.

Kyungsoo ran his hand through Jongin’s hair starting at his nape, tugging lightly to cause a rush of comforting hormones. Jongin’s head pulled back just a bit on his pillow and his spine arched with innocent pleasure. 

“How are you so good at this?” whined Jongin.

Kyungsoo massaged his crown and then smoothed the hair back down with firm strokes.

“More,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo tugged a bit harder this time. Jongin let out a gasp, his ass accidentally winding back to press against Kyungsoo’s front.

Jongin stilled for a second.

The fan and the clock seemed to fade into silence.

He experimentally shifted against Kyungsoo, ever so gently.

Kyungsoo kept tugging. Feeling a hint of Kyungsoo’s chest rising and falling behind him, Jongin scooted back so they pressed together, back to front, while sharing Jongin’s large pillow.

Kyungsoo leaned closer to sniff at Jongin’s neck again. He minutely pressed into Jongin.

Tired of waiting, Jongin reached over and grabbed Kyungsoo’s free hand to wrap around his chest. Emboldened by the move, Kyungsoo pulled him in snugly while mouthing at his neck.

“Why does it feel so good?” Jongin said breathlessly.

“It’s supposed to, otherwise we’d only want to sleep,” said Kyungsoo.

“No, but,” Jongin said while gasping as Kyungsoo’s hand trailed up to stroke a nipple over his shirt. “But it feels so good.”

Kyungsoo reached down to adjust his own briefs, which were trapping his hardening dick in an uncomfortable direction. Still clothed, he pressed his shaft right against the back of Jongin’s ass through the tangled sheet that separated them.

Jongin yanked the sheet so their bodies could get closer to connecting. Their bare legs suddenly touched and Jongin swore he could feel the exact shape of the head of Kyungsoo’s dick as it pressed against him. Moving one leg back so he could tangle it with Kyungsoo’s, Jongin arched to connect more firmly. Kyungsoo let his hand trail down until it reached the exposed bit of warm skin where Jongin’s undershirt ended, but his waistband hadn’t yet begun. He froze.

Jongin’s hand came to rest over Kyungsoo’s, guiding it under his shirt. Feeling over gently rippling muscles and thumbing at Jongin’s nipples, Kyungsoo gritted his teeth to keep the pace languid.

“You’re still the prettiest boy,” whispered Kyungsoo. “The handsomest.”

Jongin bit his lower lip to contain his sounds, but directed Kyungsoo’s hand lower, past his navel. He left Kyungsoo’s hand at the band of his briefs.

The tips of Kyungsoo’s fingers slipped beneath the seam, feeling along the skin just underneath. Jongin began to breathe heavily.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to go further,” said Kyungsoo, easing his hand back.

“No, I want you to,” said Jongin. “I want it so much.”

Kyungsoo stroked along the waistband again until Jongin calmed down and got used to the sensation.

“What do you like, baby doll?” asked Kyungsoo, his nose running through the closely cropped hair next to Jongin’s ear.

Jongin suddenly got onto his knees and adjusted Kyungsoo so he was lying on his back. Climbing on, straddling Kyungsoo’s torso, Jongin carefully lowered himself so his clothed ass settled over Kyungsoo’s hard dick.

The front of Jongin’s briefs was full as he experimentally rocked back. The motions were slow like a dance, and Kyungsoo stayed back on the pillow to admire him. Jongin tugged his undershirt off while his hip movements continued, revealing his muscular but somehow still soft abs and arms.

Reaching out, Kyungsoo’s hands both connected with his torso, thumbs tracing the lines while his fingers held Jongin’s waist. Jongin leaned back and Kyungsoo’s hands naturally slipped to the bulge in his briefs.

Kyungsoo stroked along the sensitive skin just under the bands where Jongin’s legs connected to his most intimate parts. His right hand settling over the swell, Kyungsoo thumbed delicately at the head. Jongin’s dick jerked, hardening further. No longer moving, Jongin watched as Kyungsoo fondled him, cupping the front of his package in one relatively small hand.

“More,” let out Jongin.

“You’re ok with this?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Not unless you give me more,” said Jongin.

“Show me what you like,” said Kyungsoo. “I want you to start showing me your fantasies.”

“This...this is…” said Jongin.

“But what do you think about when you’re touching that dick alone?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin hesitated.

“Sometimes I think about,” Jongin gulped, bracing for rejection, “fucking an alpha.”

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin down to him so their chests touched.

“Would the alpha like it or fight it?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Like it,” said Jongin, adjusting so he could grind his dick into Kyungsoo’s.

“Beg for it?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Maybe,” said Jongin, his pace getting faster.

“Would their hole be tight or wet and sloppy?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin’s balls tightened. “Wet, but tight,” he said. “Like he’s trying to take it, but it doesn’t come easily.”

“What position?” asked Kyungsoo, thrusting up.

“Oh fuck,” said Jongin. “I don’t know, I don’t know. Any, but ass up, face down if they really want it.”

“Are you going to give them a load inside or shoot it all over them?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin struggled to answer, his breathing ragged.

“All over,” said Jongin. “And then rub it in so I mark them with my smell.”

“Will you let them come?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Yes, yes, because I’m nice,” said Jongin.

“You’re such a nice wolf,” said Kyungsoo. “You play so nice.”

Jongin whimpered.

Kyungsoo ran his hand down the seam of Jongin’s ass over his underwear and worked two fingers between his cheeks to press against his hole. The fabric immediately became wet.

“I like that you’re so responsive,” said Kyungsoo. “And so honest about your fantasies. You’re doing so well.”

Kyungsoo began to suck and nip at Jongin’s neck moving closer and closer to his mouth. Firmly tugging Jongin’s hair, Kyungsoo said, “show me that load you’ve got for me.”

“What about you?” said Jongin, his jaw clenched as he tried to hang on.

“I’m going to not come until you fuck me,” said Kyungsoo, “whenever that is, however long it takes.”

Jongin gasped and his orgasm suddenly hit him, his briefs becoming sticky and wet from cum and slick.

Jongin draped himself on Kyungsoo, allowing all tension to leave his body. Stroking down his spine, Kyungsoo crooned softly to him.

“I’m so messy,” said Jongin, his eyes half closed.

Kyungsoo nipped at his neck. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Jongin crawled off carefully, waddling a bit while walking to the bathroom.

Kyungsoo followed him. “I’ll give you privacy, but you can find the towels in that closet and all the toiletries you could need are in the shower already. Leave your underwear on the floor, I’ll take care of them.”

Jongin took a quick, steamy shower and washed up, stepping out into the bathroom to see his underwear on a hanger.

“Did you,” Jongin called from the bathroom, “wash my...underwear for me?”

“No,” returned Kyungsoo. “I was going to, but they smelled too good. Can I keep them? I’ll give you a pair of mine.”

Wrapping a towel around his waist, Jongin stepped into the bedroom to find Kyungsoo shirtless and wearing pajama bottoms while reading in bed with glasses on.

“It’s embarrassing,” said Jongin. “I feel like teenager.”

“I can assure you that you do not feel like a teenager,” said Kyungsoo, looking up with a piercing stare.

“What are you going to do with my underwear?” asked Jongin.

“Use them as a face mask when the fine dust blows in next,” said Kyungsoo in a deadpan voice.

“Ya! I’m going to rub my wet body all over you,” said Jongin.

“Is that supposed to be punishment?” asked Kyungsoo. “Your clothes for bed are on the chair.”

Jongin toweled off as he walked, giving Kyungsoo a glimpse at his bare ass. Pulling on the briefs and pajama bottoms, Jongin said, “are we matching, hyung?”

“Not on purpose,” said Kyungsoo. “I just keep my wardrobe simple and have a lot of the same things.”

“Still, it’s cute,” said Jongin, crawling back in bed. This time he scooted right over so he could lay his head on Kyungsoo’s chest.

“Your hair is all wet,” said Kyungsoo. “Do you need a dryer?”

“I’m tired. Does it bother you?” asked Jongin.

“Naw, just go to sleep,” said Kyungsoo, pushing some strands from near Jongin’s eyes.

—

The next morning was heaven for Jongin. Not only did he get to borrow one of Kyungsoo’s ties to try to disguise the fact that he was going to work in the same clothes he wore yesterday, Kyungsoo made him breakfast and rubbed his back while checking email as Jongin ate it hurriedly over the counter.

_Then_ Kyungsoo held his hand after they exited the house, leading him to the car.

But the _coup de grâce_ was when Kyungsoo paused while opening his car door and said, “I forgot something very important.”

Jongin blinked slowly. He felt well-rested for once and the sun filtered through the leaves and branches of a mature tree overhead. A bird cried, but a cute sort of bird and not the predatory kind that could pick off a puppy.

Kyungsoo’s hands came up to cradle Jongin’s head and pull him down a little. Rising on his toes, he planted a kiss on Jongin’s lips.

Still against Jongin’s lips, Kyungsoo said, “I almost forgot.”

Jongin leaned down to kiss back, but Kyungsoo ran around to the driver’s side while cackling and holding his arms out behind him like he was a kid pretending to be a superhero.

“Ya, come back,” whined Jongin.

“We have to get to work before the rest of the team or else I’m going to need to fire myself,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin buckled in. “Why are you so good to me?” he asked.

Kyungsoo carefully pulled out of the driveway. “So you love me,” he said.


	10. Full wolfiness

“Get back here, you little shit!” yelled Minseok, running out of the pantry with a black novelty whip held aloft.

Dashing off with a slice of pizza in his mouth, Jongdae effortlessly hurdled a 60-gallon stunt barrel of UltraSlick that had tipped in the main hallway of the office.

Minseok brought the whip down on a nearby desk and sent the Knot Dysfunction Pill model car rolling off onto the floor. 

Yixing and Chanyeol stuck their heads out of the quiet room, removing their headphones groggily, to watch the chase.

Baekhyun looked up from eating his burrito and tugged on Sehun’s shirt to alert him, signaling to his phone. Sehun looked toward Kyungsoo's office to see that the coast was clear and started recording.

While licking an envelope closed, Junmyeon stood at his desk to see what was going on, licking so much that the envelope failed to seal, the contents fell out, and their rent check would later be discovered — uncashed — tucked behind the neglected recycling bin.

Jongin remained mostly oblivious until Jongdae swerved past his desk again, avoided the rolling car, and yelling “parkour!” before attempting to run up the side of the wall to help turn a corner. This being a recently built co-working space, the walls weren’t the best, and Jongdae ended up putting a hole in it the size of two shoes plus some wiggle room to pull said shoes out.

Minseok ran up behind Jongdae, turned him over on the floor, and gleefully whipped his ass through his pants until Jongdae started crying about knee pain. It wasn’t even noon when Minseok gathered Jongdae in his arms and carried him off to get an MRI.

Needless to say, nobody realized that Jongin was wearing the same clothes as yesterday with the exception of a borrowed tie.

At five minutes to one, Chanyeol stuck his head in Kyungsoo’s office.

“Bro, do you have two seconds?” asked Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo motioned for him to enter.

“We have a meeting in a moment with the product development team and I’m not sure how to include Jongin without status harassing him. Like, how do we sell sex stuff without, you know, talking about sex stuff?” asked Chanyeol.

“It’s ok to talk about sex stuff at our job that’s all about selling sex stuff. You just need to make it about the products and not about his sexual experiences, his status, and so on,” said Kyungsoo.

“Or dating him,” said Chanyeol. “I remember that part!”

“Good,” said Kyungsoo weakly.

“Ok, I gotta run, but I’ll keep that in mind,” said Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo nodded as Chanyeol dashed off toward the video conference room and then slumped in his chair.

By the time Chanyeol arrived, Yixing and Baekhyun had set up the day’s test samples around the conference table. Tao was eating a banana on the screen while eyeing the samples warily. Jongin raced in last after scheduling a blog post on trending hair removal trends for betas looking to achieve a more omega look in the sheets or on the forest floor.

Chanyeol clapped his hands five minutes after the start time on the calendar invite he had circulated. “Ok team, we need to test some new product options in a much-requested category. As you can see, we have a number of masturbators to test. These will be new for Wolf Pack in the spring — as long as we find one or more that we like,” he said.

“We’ve had tube-shaped, hand-held strokers like knot-compatible Fleshlights for awhile, but our customers want a more immersive experience,” said Baekhyun, absentmindedly rubbing the silicone ass on one of the samples sitting on the table next to him.

“Yeah, so these masturbators, as you can see, are meant to resemble the dick or pussy and...uhh...hole, sometimes just hole, of a wolf...that is prepared for bottoming,” said Chanyeol.

“You mean an omega?” asked Tao.

“No, we’re going to stick with status-neutral language so as to avoid making assumptions about roles in the bedroom or forrest,” said Chanyeol. “‘Wolf that is bottoming’ is the language we’ll use.”

“Umm, I’m not fucking plastic at work,” said Yixing after raising his hand.

Chanyeol looked toward Jongin and began to panic. “No no! Nobody is fucking anything,” he said, “we’ve never put our dicks in anything at the office, not even after the last time the China team visited.”

Tao and Baekhyun snorted, covering their giggles while Chanyeol and Yixing remained stony-faced. Jongin’s eyes were glued on the samples and he didn’t seem to pick up on the reference.

“Anyway, we need to assess the sample objects, thoroughly test, and review them,” said Chanyeol.

Jongin looked closer at the silicone models. “Why do some have feet and dicks included and others are basically an ass presenting with a hole?” he asked.

Visibly relaxing at Jongin’s comfort with the subject, Chanyeol hit one of the samples on the feet. “It’s just aesthetics,” he said. “So we have to figure out what’s going to get our target wolf fired up and ready to fuck some top grade silicone,” said Chanyeol.

“I thought you guys turned into a bunch of serial killers when the video came on because that half torso one is creepy,” said Tao. “Imagine someone finding that in your house, you’d need to perfect your ‘it puts the lotion in the basket’ impression. Either get a whole sex doll or just an ass and hole.”

“Yeah, can we put that one somewhere else? I like the abs, but it’s fucking creepy to have half a torso on our conference table,” said Baekhyun. “That shit is like knot kryptonite, I’m not going to inflate right for a week.”

Jongin tentatively reached out for the dick on the serial killer half-torso model and everyone else held their breaths, uncertain of what to do or say. He ended up batting at the dick. “Where’s the knot?” he asked. “I mean...dicks don’t have to have knots to be…to have value and...contribute, but…”

“Good point,” said Chanyeol. “Our customer is a wolf who loves being a wolf, not that a knot is required for full wolfiness. Just, they want to see their own bodies represented. This looks very muggle-like. Neither the dick nor the hole have typical wolf characteristics.”

“Exactly,” said Jongin. “Do we have lube?”

Yixing pushed a gallon-sized pump bottle of UltraSlick across the table.

While unbuttoning and rolling up his sleeves, Jongin explained, “this model doesn’t seem to have a lot of give in the front.” He lubed his hand generously. “If I jerk the dick like this,” moving it around, “as one would when riding the dick in a heat or another intense encounter, it may not have enough give.”

Jongin kept jerking the chopped torso dick, the lube contributing to a sticky, wet, remarkably life-like sound.

The other wolves held their breaths and kept their thoughts to themselves.

“I just don’t see this one holding up during—ahh!”

Jongin froze, half the silicone dick snapped off in his hand.

“Omg I broke a dick,” Jongin said while touching the abs and bowing slightly as if trying to apologize to the figure. “I’m so sorry, I broke a dick. I can’t believe-”

“No, this is exactly what’s supposed to happen!” said Baekhyun. “We have to find out if these are good before we offer them or else wolves might as well buy their toys at any old store online. Even Amazon.”

“Serial killer victim is out, please pack your creepy torso and go,” said Yixing while walking the model off on its leg stumps.

“Next!” said Chanyeol. “A model that offers two holes for the price of one,” gesturing to a rounded booty model with a small hole on top between the cheeks and larger one below. Small silicone feet were tucked on either side of the booty.

“How do we feel about the feet?” asked Yixing, stroking his chin.

“They look really small and not super well-formed from here,” said Tao. “I’d feel like I was trying to fuck a baby doll, kinda gross.”

“Yeah, I can see feet being hot in this context, but they’re just not made very well,” said Baekhyun.

“This top hole looks incidental,” said Jongin, sticking his head right near the cheeks and gazing in. “Our customers tend to be into anal no matter the gender of their partners, right?” He pulled the cheeks apart to see inside a bit better.

“Yeah, they strongly associate wolf sex with anal due to heat mechanics,” said Chanyeol as Jongin tentatively slid a finger into the smaller hole.

“Can I get lube in this?” asked Jongin. “Do we have to send these back, by the way?” He looked over to the broken dick torso sitting in the corner.

“Be my guest,” said Chanyeol. “No, we call in samples from companies that make products we’re considering for our boxes and ecommerce shop. They send them gratis because if we select their products, they’re set for life. They absolutely don’t want them back.”

Tao and Baekhyun snickered again.

Jongin gently worked one lubed finger into the tighter hole. “I don’t see how this is going to work,” he said, adding another. He roughly thrust the fingers in and out. “The separation between the two chambers just isn’t that strong, so if someone really gets to fucking this hole or even _starts_ to knot, they’re going to be pushing it to the limit,” his third finger barely slipping in alongside the other two. “One good thrust and—oh my god.”

Baekhyun and Yixing leaned in to see the model.

“Oh shit, you ripped that ass up,” said Baekhyun. “Literally.”

“Did you just take two tight holes and make a super hole?” asked Yixing.

“Yeah, but with a kinda jagged bunch of silicone flopping around in there,” said Jongin, still thrusting to show the damage.”

“This reminds me of a time in Tokyo when-” said Baekhyun.

“Thank you for so efficiently testing this model,” said Chanyeol. “I don’t think we can sell this in good faith.”

“You are the weakest hole. Goodbye!” said Tao.

Yixing pushed the model off the table, into a pile with the snapped dick torso and stray half dick.

“Last one,” said Chanyeol. “By the way, keep in mind that if we don’t find our masturbator today, we can always call in more samples and keep hunting.”

“Don’t settle for a shitty masturbator,” said Baekhyun, nodding sagely.

Chanyeol slapped the ass of the final model. “This one is made out of premium SexFlesh, so it feels soft and life-like.”

“And SexFlesh sounds creepy as fuck,” said Tao.

“We can always downplay the silicone trademark,” said Jongin. “Just review the contract to make sure we’re not required to hype it.”

“It has a good bounce,” said Yixing, slapping the ass a few times in succession.

“Yeah, this is a premium masturbator for a more discerning customer that’s willing to pay more for quality,” said Chanyeol.

“How much?” asked Tao.

“269,000 won,” said Chanyeol.

“Yikes,” said Baekhyun, “at that rate why not date? It’s not like this SexFlesh booty can groom or snuggle you.”

“Sometimes one wolf can’t fulfil every need,” said Yixing. “A friend or family member might be able to handle the comforting side of things, but not the fucking.”

“And, hey, some wolves like to use toys of all sorts within deeply sexual partnerships,” said Chanyeol. “An alpha might like to watch their omega fuck a masturbator while taking them from behind, we’re not here to judge.”

“Pshksnduxbhsvss,” said Tao, mimicking static.

“Yeah, that’s hot,” said Yixing.

“Glad to see that your re-embrace of Paris Hilton is still going,” said Baekhyun.

“I’d have to unembrace to re-embrace, bro, this love is strong,” said Yixing.

“Can I fuck this one?” asked Jongin.

The conference room and Tao burst into hoots.

“I mean! Can I test this one?” asked Jongin, wiping away tears of laughter while slapping Chanyeol’s arm.

“Do the deed, bro,” said Yixing, pushing the lube bottle even closer.

Jongin palpitated the ass and pulled the cheeks apart. “It has a good look,” said Jongin. “Nice life-like rim especially. Well-formed and pleasing balls and cock with placement that seems plausible. Good give in the hole, plenty of room. The interior looks a bit weird because it’s ribbed, that’s not really accurate, obviously.”

Jongin slipped one lubed finger and then two into the hole.

“Oh that’s nice,” said Jongin, stuffing in a third.

“Right?” said Tao. “The ribbing in these strokers and masturbators is weird at first and then it’s like yoooo.”

Jongin tried to fit a fourth finger in. “Do we have a dildo with an inflatable knot anywhere?” asked Jongin.

“Yo, where do you think we work?” asked Yixing, pulling a dildo out of the front pocket of his hoodie.

“I...thank you,” said Jongin, eyeing the toy warily.

Lubing up the purple dildo, Jongin hummed a familiar tune. “Can someone hold the cheeks apart so I can drive this thing in without rubbing the lube all over everything?” he asked.

Baekhyun gave a hand and soon Jongin eased the XL dildo in. “Good slide, seems to accommodate the size well,” said Jongin. “Lemme try to inflate the knot.”

Pumping the ball attached to the dildo by a tube, Jongin carefully watched to see how the toy responded to the size change.

“Seems to be taking it well,” said Jongin, “I see no damage or tearing.” He kept pumping.

“Does the company make a pussy version?” asked Tao.

Chanyeol opened his phone to check as Jongin kept pumping. 

“This masturbator is really impressive I—ahh!” Jongin yelled as the dildo’s over-inflated knot popped while inside the hole.

“Whoa, you popped a knot,” said Yixing, putting his head at the entrance to survey the damage.

“I’m so sorry, Yixing, I didn’t mean to break your knot,” said Jongin.

“It’s all good, man,” said Yixing, "it was just a sample I was carrying around after another meeting, no big deal. Thankfully it’s not my real knot, but if you want to-”

“Ok, thank you, everyone, great meeting. We’re going to continue to investigate this model, especially light of the fact that it survived the ministrations of Jongin, who we shall now dub ‘Magic Hands,’” said Chanyeol.

As Jongin walked back to his desk, he glanced at his phone to see a Slack DM from Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo: I hope you’re having a good day.

Jongin: Yeah, lots going on, but I feel like we’re starting to get used to each other.

Kyungsoo: That’s good. I remembered while making some tea that I think you left your socks at my house. Did you go to work without socks today?

Jongin: Oh. Yes. Oops?

Kyungsoo: Do you need me to grab a pair for you from the mall?

Jongin: I hate socks tbh.

Kyungsoo: Oh, ok. I was worried and was going to ask if you wanted to come over and get them after work

Kyungsoo: but if they’re not important

Jongin: Actually, I love socks. I can’t believe I left my favorite ones at your house. I'm going to get hypothermia. My toes will whither away. I’m devastated.

Kyungsoo: address and directions incoming


	11. The first among my kin

The true strength of an alpha is not measured in how they fight in battle. Rather, the alpha shows their particular gifts by creating a world where the people they care about can live freely no matter their status. The greater the alpha, the more freedom they assure their kin.

The greatest of alphas, the rare ones, have no need for dominance or control and merely create a world so secure and provide love so unwavering that their kin of all statuses live as they wish.

But today after work, Kyungsoo was just being a playful asshole.

He had finished raking leaves into three piles in his front yard when Jongin pulled into his driveway. Kyungsoo kept raking as if he didn’t notice the car arrive.

“Hyung,” said Jongin, walking across the grass. Kyungsoo held in his smile as he turned to face Jongin.

“Wow, I shouldn’t kiss you publicly today,” said Kyungsoo.

“Why not?” asked Jongin, his chin puckered due to pouting.

“You look like a high school student,” said Kyungsoo, gesturing to Jongin’s gray sweatsuit topped off by a varsity jacket.

Jongin tugged at the string on the hood.

“I thought you might like casual style,” said Jongin.

“I do, but maybe pretend like you’re a student I hired to rake these leaves,” said Kyungsoo, barely holding in his laughter.

“Yah!” said Jongin, charging right for Kyungsoo. Flinging the rake aside, Kyungsoo opened his arms and let Jongin knock them both over into the biggest pile of leaves right in the front yard.

“I guess you’re going to need to explain some things to the neighbors,” said Jongin, hovering right over Kyungsoo’s face.

“Like what?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin settled in closer somehow. “The fact that you have a mate. The fact that he’s not kid even if he’s very youthful and handsome,” said Jongin.

“I have a mate, but what’s with this editorializing?” asked Kyungsoo, his hands sliding up to hold Jongin’s thighs.

“Just helping you out,” said Jongin, his smile sly.

“People are going to think we died in here or something,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin grabbed a few leaves and sprinkled them over his back. “There, we have cover,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo laughed, and he unexpectedly turned them both over so Jongin landed on his back in the leaves and Kyungsoo’s legs were positioned between Jongin’s.

“Wow, Mr. Decisive today,” said Jongin. “What’s this about?”

“I wanted to see your hair from another angle,” said Kyungsoo, adjusting his elbows on the ground so a hand could play with Jongin’s bangs.

“It’s kind of wet because I took a shower before coming,” said Jongin.

“Oh did you?” asked Kyungsoo, his hand coming down to trace Jongin’s earlobe.

“Mmhmm,” said Jongin, drawing in a large breath.

“Did you wash your face, too?” asked Kyungsoo, dragging his nose lightly across Jongin’s cheek until the tips of their noses touched.

“Yes,” said Jongin, now a bit breathless.

“How about your neck?” asked Kyungsoo, placing his lips over Jongin’s tight tendons and sucking almost imperceptibly.

“Ye-are you going to fuck me in your front yard?” whispered Jongin.

Kyungsoo hips ground down a bit. “Would you like that?” he asked.

“Holy shit,” said Jongin, opening his legs just a bit more.

“Oh, so you like the idea of public sex?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I like the idea of sex, I don’t care where it happens,” said Jongin. “We are wolves after all, if we do it old school style in the woods, squirrels would watch, so who cares about humans.”

“Where did you learn to be so comfortable with sex?” asked Kyungsoo. “Even most wolves aren’t so open.”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but I fucked a lot of people before now,” said Jongin, his eyes sparkling as he laughed. “I guess it just never occurred to me to be ashamed of sex, so...I’m not.”

“I wouldn’t be ashamed if I were you,” said Kyungsoo. “You look divine when you come.”

“Wow, I caught horny Kyungsoo today,” said Jongin. “Here I was just trying to get back some socks and you’re grinding our dicks together in your front yard.”

“Is it ok?” asked Kyungsoo, pressing closer.

“I love horny Kyungsoo,” said Jongin. “I always wondered if my mate — if I even ever had a mate — would like sex or be compatible with me. I guess mates are mates because they’re compatible, so I shouldn’t have worried, but...I worried.”

Kyungsoo’s hand traveled down to feel the outline of Jongin’s dick through his sweats.

“I needn’t have worried,” rasped Jongin.

“No underwear today?” asked Kyungsoo, his eyebrows raised.

“Oops, I guess I forgot to slip them on,” said Jongin. “Silly me.”

Kyungsoo trailed his hand down to Jongin’s waistband. “Can I put my hand down your pants?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Now who’s the horny teenager?” asked Jongin. “And, yes, I’m going to bite you if you don’t.”

“Bite me where?” asked Kyungsoo, sliding his hand in carefully so Jongin wasn’t exposed.

“Your jugular,” said Jongin. “We’re lucky it’s dark out so early now. Otherwise your neighbors would have to explain the birds and the bees and the wolves to their kids early.”

“I paid the sun to go away,” said Kyungsoo, carefully running his cold hand over the head of Jongin’s hot, smooth dick to spread precome around.

Jongin shuddered due to the cold. “Hyung, you’re always so soft with me,” said Jongin, sighing and pressing back against the grass.

“Because you’re precious to me,” said Kyungsoo, looking down at him.

“You don’t have to go easy on me,” said Jongin.

“I get the sense that other people are rough with you,” said Kyungsoo. “I want to be gentle with you.” He trailed his fingers over Jongin’s balls, the residual cold in his fingers earning a shudder.

“I want you to do everything with me,” said Jongin softly. “I’ll like everything with you, I suspect.”

A car turned down Kyungsoo’s street and the headlights lit up the yards.

“I’d love to fuck you in this pile of leaves, but one, we need to not get arrested and two, I was serious about not coming until you fuck me,” said Kyungsoo.

“I’m very willing to reimagine our goals,” said Jongin, his hips thrusting so his dick slid into Kyungsoo’s fist.

“Come into my house,” said Kyungsoo.

“Are you going to fuck me?” asked Jongin.

“No, but I’ll make you feel good,” said Kyungsoo.

“Show me the way,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo extracted his hand and hopped up, offering his other hand to Jongin and helping him off the ground. He led him into the house, brushing leaves from his jacket on the way in.

In the foyer, Kyungsoo and Jongin removed their shoes and put on slippers. Two steps past the shoe organizer, Kyungsoo halted.

“What’s up?” asked Jongin.

“I’m going to suck your dick now, ok?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Yes, please,” said Jongin, gripping his half-hard dick through his sweats.

Kyungsoo sank to the floor and reached up to Jongin’s waistband. He pulled it over Jongin’s hip bones and carefully eased it over Jongin’s dick. He let the band rest at mid-thigh, entranced by the sight before him.

“You’re...do you wax?” asked Kyungsoo, taking in the sight.

“I just trim a bit,” said Jongin shyly, “but the farther an omega is on the spectrum, the less hair we have.”

“It’s beautiful,” said Kyungsoo, amazed by the perfectly smooth skin and hints of hair in a few places. “Your everything, it’s like a sculpture, you’re exquisite.”

“Does exquisite mean tiny?” asked Jongin, rolling his eyes.

“Not at all, just exceptionally beautiful and perfect,” said Kyungsoo, running his thumbs over the soft skin of Jongin’s balls and watching them tighten while his dick jerked.

“Are you going to tease me forever?” asked Jongin. 

“Maybe,” said Kyungsoo, a fingertip experimentally rubbing a drop of precome that oozed out into the head of Jongin’s dick.

“Hyung, I jerked off in the shower thinking about you before I drove over and I still feel like I’m going to burst,” said Jongin. “Please don’t make me wait.”

Kyungsoo dove forward to take Jongin down in one go, clearly persuaded by the argument. He pulled back. “Tell me what you did, what it was like,” he said, returning to bob lustily.

“I jerked my dick until I came,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo pulled back. “Did you finger yourself?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Jongin, pouting while trying to pull off his jacket.

“How long did it take?” asked Kyungsoo. 

“Shorter than this because my hand didn’t keep pulling off to ask me questions,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo pulled off and gripped Jongin’s dick firmly.

“Show me how you did it,” said Kyungsoo. “Show me what gets you off.”

“Aren’t you supposed to get me off?” asked Jongin.

“Trust me, I will,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin began to stroke his dick. “It’s a bit dry,” he said.

Kyungsoo leaned forward and ran his tongue on the exposed parts, adding saliva.

“Turn around and show me how you finger yourself,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin faces the wall and slid two fingers in with no delay.

Kyungsoo reached out and spread Jongin’s cheeks so he could watch more closely.

“That’s really pretty, too,” said Kyungsoo.

“I’m not pretty, I’m handsome,” said Jongin.

“You’re right, so handsome,” said Kyungsoo mindlessly while watching the fingers go in and out.

“Hyung, it’s not the same as when you do it,” whined Jongin.

Kyungsoo reached up and pulled the fingers out, admiring the slight loosening of Jongin’s rim that remained. He pressed a kiss to the hole. Holding Jongin by his hips, he turned him around and then directed him back against the wall.

Directing Jongin’s legs apart, Kyungsoo worked two fingers past his rim. 

“Don’t go easy,” said Jongin, shifting to take the intrusion harder.

“You like it rough?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I like it all ways,” said Jongin, “but you’re making me wait and I need to come.”

“You’re so sweet I bet your cum tastes like candy,” said Kyungsoo, grabbing his own dick through his jeans to try to get it to stop forming a knot.

“Honey water, but close enough,” said Jongin, trying to make out the size of Kyungsoo without tipping over. “I can help you with that knot, by the way.”

“You think you can handle it right here and right now?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Probably not,” said Jongin. “But I sure would love to die trying.”

Kyungsoo thrust up into Jongin harder. Jongin’s dick bobbed wildly in the air as he dropped himself down to contribute to the force.

“Hold on,” said Kyungsoo, reaching out to grab Jongin’s dick. He lowered his head onto it, finally wrapping his whole mouth around the length.

Jongin’s legs shook slightly. “Hyung, I can’t hold on, I’m really close, I’m…”

Kyungsoo nodded and bobbed faster, thrusting his fingers more decisively.

“Sometimes I fantasize about what would have happened if you had opened the door to my college apartment and fucked me that first time we met,” babbled Jongin.

“If you had thrown the door open, knotted me, and claimed me so I wouldn’t have had to go through all that bullshit,” said Jongin.

“I’ve ached for you every heat, you have no idea what it’s like to have met your mate and to go unclaimed,” said Jongin. “I tried to get filled by anyone and everyone to take care of the problem, but nobody could even come close to the feeling of two of your fingers inside me.”

“Don’t leave me. I know it had to wait, but don’t let me hurt like that now that you know,” begged Jongin.

Kyungsoo slipped a third finger into Jongin. Leaning his head back until it thunked against the wall, Jongin moaned. 

Kyungsoo reached blindly for Jongin’s hand and finally found it, allowing them to tightly hold onto each other as Jongin finally came.

Pulling off, Kyungsoo turned his head briefly while swallowing. Jongin remained against the wall, his head seemingly glued against it.

Seeing that Jongin’s sweats were still down, Kyungsoo gently pulled them back up, careful not to hit Jongin’s overstimulated dick. When they were back on, Jongin looked down.

“You,” he said. “You-“

He slid to the floor, gently tackling Kyungsoo as he had in the leaves. Smoothing over Kyungsoo’s eyebrows with one hand, then tracing his lips, Jongin looked possessed.

“I’m completely obsessed with you,” said Jongin. “I know I’m a million steps ahead, but I can’t stop myself anymore.”

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin closer.

“Just because I’m more reserved doesn’t mean I feel any differently,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin leaned forward until they were so close they breathed and exhaled the same air. 

“For an alpha you sure do seem like a beta,” said Jongin.

“Don’t confuse aggressiveness and lack of manners with true alpha behavior,” said Kyungsoo. “A real alpha looks after their kin and lets them make decisions for themselves.”

“Am I your kin?” asked Jongin, hopeful yet guarded.

“The first among my kin, yes,” whispered Kyungsoo against Jongin’s lips.

Jongin looked into Kyungsoo’s eyes, searching. Eventually Jongin's eyes lowered to study his lips.

It was Jongin who leaned down to press his lips against Kyungsoo’s, their mouths eventually opening to each other as they lazily made out on the floor well into the night.


	12. Very alphaish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter briefly mentions (in a non-specific way) the deaths of Jongin’s parents and touches a bit on the emotional and practical fallout of that experience for him.
> 
> To assuage general fears about the direction of the story: Jongin and Kyungsoo are truly mates, they have a deep connection, and they’re going to be extremely fluffy and spicy from here on out. Spoiler alert: there is no kaisoo angst in this story. Getting to know each other and figuring out mated life will present plenty of challenges, but they’ve lived enough to cherish a good, soft thing and not act like idiots or create unnecessary drama.

Light came through Kyungsoo’s bedroom curtains too soon. Jongin stirred. Kyungsoo was already awake.

Pulling back the covers, Jongin blindly reached for his phone.

“Stay in bed with me,” whispered Kyungsoo. “It’s only 5am, but someday we’ll forget what it’s like to be new.”

“That doesn’t sound like us, we won't forget,” said Jongin softly, wiggling under Kyungsoo’s arm and drawing a long breath.

Reaching for Kyungsoo’s waistband, Jongin looked up to gauge his reaction.

“There’s no need to race, time is stretching out before us,” said Kyungsoo, moving Jongin’s hand up to rest over his heart.

“What if it’s not enough?” asked Jongin.

“Not enough?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Not enough time. I’m greedy for you and everything about this sets off panic for me,” said Jongin.

“Panic?” asked Kyungsoo, his eyes sparkling. “Should I be worried?”

“To finally have after being a have-not is a big change,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo kissed Jongin’s knuckles. “Nothing can take this away now, it’s ok to relax,” said Kyungsoo.

“Even formally mated wolves are parted by death,” said Jongin, an echo of something in his eyes.

“Then let’s hope we’re lucky enough to die on the same day,” said Kyungsoo playfully. “That we’re so much a part of each other that one ceasing to be will carry along his mate so as to minimize the pain.”

“I’ll settle for living right here under your arm so Death can easily find us both,” said Jongin, brushing away a few stray tears. “Tell the world that they can address all queries to Kim Jongin, Do Kyungsoo’s left armpit, Seoul.”

“Jongin!” said Kyungsoo, shocked to see Jongin’s tears. He pulled back to see him more clearly. “Are you that sad about not touching my dick this morning?”

Jongin covered his face and laughed, hiding his pink eyelids. He went quiet.

“My parents, they died when I was still fairly young,” said Jongin. “I was in high school, my dad shortly after my mom, but I felt much younger than my chronological age. When it happened.”

Kyungsoo stroked his hair. 

“When we met—you and I, the first time—I still wasn’t over it,” said Jongin. “In many ways I’m still not. But it hurt more then.”

Kyungsoo hummed faintly.

“I had to give up my dog,” said Jongin, his voice finally cracking. “Once we sold the house, I had nowhere to keep her. I had a—she was so cute, this little brown beast with curly fur. I could never bring myself to check with the shelter to see that she’d been adopted. Somehow it felt wrong to care so much about her life when my parents had lost theirs, but I wanted to know. And I also didn’t want to know.”

Moving him closer, Kyungsoo pulled Jongin’s hair lightly.

“My sister got sick because she wasn’t being groomed and cuddled anymore,” said Jongin, his voice raw. 

“Is she…” asked Kyungsoo.

“She found her mate shortly after the biggest health scare,” said Jongin. “She’s fine and even has two kids now.”

“An uncle,” said Kyungsoo with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m an uncle to a niece and a nephew,” said Jongin, smiling and rubbing his eyes into Kyungsoo’s undershirt.

“I guess that means,” said Kyungsoo, “that I’m an uncle. In the wolf sense.”

Jongin crawled on top of Kyungsoo. He leaned down. “In the wolf sense,” said Jongin. “In every sense.” He placed his lips around Kyungsoo’s bottom lip and gently sucked. He drew back just a bit. “If you want.”

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin closer. Reaching back to feel the bumps on Jongin’s spine, Kyungsoo slowly raised his undershirt, drawing it up vertebra by vertebra. Jongin reached back and pulled the shirt over his head.

“I want everything,” said Kyungsoo, yanking off his own shirt quickly as Jongin wiggled back so it could come free.

Kyungsoo reached out and placed two fingers over Jongin’s navel. “It’s obscene,” he said softly.

“Even babies have bellybuttons,” said Jongin, covering his nipples shyly with his forearms.

“Not your body or your navel,” said Kyungsoo. “The things I want to do to you.”

“We’re never going to get out of bed and make it to work, are we?” asked Jongin.

“Naw, let’s not have jobs,” said Kyungsoo, pressing back into the pillow and admiring his mate.

Jongin lowered his ass to feel Kyungsoo’s dick beneath him. “How are you always hard so quick and still manage to resist my offers of a good draining,” he said.

Grimacing, Kyungsoo shifted below him. “Sometimes a bit of pain feels good, or at least right,” said Kyungsoo. 

“I could fuck you,” said Jongin, “right now.”

Kyungsoo covered his eyes with his forearm and laughed. “That’s not quite how it works for alphas,” he said. “I’m guessing you’ve never fucked an alpha.”

“Never topped an alpha, no,” said Jongin. “But what are you talking about? You have…” He looked at the bunched sheets, trying to remember if he’d seen Kyungsoo’s anatomy.

“I have all the parts,” Kyungsoo said, “but they need some preparation before taking a dick.”

“Is this standard for alphas?” asked Jongin, concerned. “Not that there’s anything wrong with-”

Kyungsoo laughed hysterically. “Yes!” he said. “I’d tell you more, but you probably wouldn’t want to have sex ever again.”

“I find that hard to believe,” said Jongin, backing up until his face was over Kyungsoo’s pajama bottoms. 

“I’m going to take these off, ok?” asked Jongin.

“Yes, please,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin worked Kyungsoo’s pants down slowly. Eventually he gave up and just brought them down in one motion.

“Oh god,” Jongin breathed out.

“Is it ok?” asked Kyungsoo.

He gulped. “Yes, oh my god, yes,” said Jongin, tangling his fingers in the thick hair he discovered.

“I should have known by your eyebrows,” said Jongin, “of course you’d be extremely wolfy, very alphaish down here.”

“I can always groom so we match,” said Kyungsoo. “Some people like the untamed alpha look and others not so much…”

“I love it,” said Jongin, burying his face in the curling, black hair. 

“Are you sure?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Yes,” said Jongin, never moving from his position. “It’s all so big, oh my god,”

“What is?” asked Kyungsoo playfully.

“Your dick,” said Jongin, rubbing his cheek against it. “Your balls look like they could leak for days and still be heavy.”

“I have been leaking for days,” said Kyungsoo. “Ever since you said the word “mate” I haven’t been able to get my dick to go all the way down.”

“You should really fuck me,” said Jongin, lazily tonguing at the head, lapping up precome. “I bet it would feel good to unload in me. You must be having a really hard time.”

Kyungsoo ran his fingers through Jongin’s hair and gave it a good yank.

“I’m trying to establish a strong emotional bond before plowing you into my-our mattress,” said Kyungsoo through gritted teeth as Jongin ran his tongue up and down the half-formed knot.

Jongin’s hand held Kyungsoo’s dick steady as he licked all around it. “That’s one thing, but why are you so set on not coming?”

“Because I promised you I wouldn’t?” asked Kyungsoo, whining frustratedly. “I’m also nervous about the hormones triggering your heat, depending on where my cum lands. And the draining signaling that it’s a good time to rut.”

“Have these rut and heat theories even been proven?” asked Jongin. “Or is it some old wolves tale like cum facials being decent skincare.”

“Not certain, but I don’t want to rush anything more than necessary. We have time,” said Kyungsoo.

“At this rate, I’m going to slide halfway in you and you’ll unload on the sheets,” said Jongin.

“Ideally,” said Kyungsoo, hardening further in Jongin’s hand.

Jongin snuck a hand down to pull at his own pajama pants, yanking them over his ass. He scooted to Kyungsoo’s side and jutted his ass back expectantly.

Kyungsoo reached over and slipped a finger past Jongin’s rim.

“You’re dripping fast. Are you sure you’re not going into heat anyway?” asked Kyungsoo.

“If you send me into heat early and still refuse to fuck me, I’ll slice this perfect dick off and ride it til I’m through,” said Jongin.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t even be mad,” said Kyungsoo.

“What makes you think it’s heat?” asked Jongin. “Maybe that’s just how wet I get for you on the regular.”

Jongin stuffed two fingers in alongside Kyungsoo’s and worked them in and out. Just as quickly, he pulled them out and parted his fingers so Kyungsoo could see the natural lube coating them.

“I could hop on your dick and just lube you up,” said Jongin, teasing. “I bet it would be really easy to play with you if I had some lube.”

“Top drawer,” said Kyungsoo through his teeth. “I have a bottle.”

“Why use synthetic when you have the sweetest natural formula available?” asked Jongin.

“Wipe what you’ve got on my dick,” said Kyungsoo.

“You’re getting something of mine. I want something of yours,” said Jongin, jerking Kyungsoo’s dick with his slicked hand. “I’m greedy, I want something that’s you inside me.”

“What’s a fair trade?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I want your cum,” said Jongin.

“You want it that bad?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Yes, I want you in me however I can get,” said Jongin while giving his own dick a tug.

“How much?” asked Kyungsoo.

“How much what?” asked Jongin.

“Cum. How much are we talking?” asked Kyungsoo. “Do you want a quick shot, a regular load, a full drain?”

“You can control that?” asked Jongin, stroking.

“Yeah, what?” asked Kyungsoo. “I hope nobody out there is blowing their load however just because they need to get off. What sort of boys have you been playing with, mate?”

“Obviously the wrong ones,” muttered Jongin.

“In your mouth or on your skin only,” said Kyungsoo. “I’m serious.”

“Where else would I...oh,” said Jongin. 

“No sneaking it in, do you understand?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Where do you even get these ideas and how can I go there?” asked Jongin.

“I’m a co-founder of a sex company,” said Kyungsoo dryly.

“I thought you were a delivery guy when Wolf Pack started?” asked Jongin.

“We founded the company all together,” said Kyungsoo. “I just didn’t mind making deliveries, especially until I finished school. I wasn’t exactly super motivated in my early 20s.”

“Wait,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo ceased moving.

“Was the gouda in the Mega Knot Box your idea?” asked Jongin.

“Obviously,” said Kyungsoo. “You think those winners we work with know shit about cheese?”

“Kyungsoo, I’m going to nut,” said Jongin.

“Yeah, that’s the idea,” said Kyungsoo.

“No, but I’m deeply, emotionally overwhelmed at the idea of the universe making us mates. It’s an emotional nut I’m busting,” said Jongin.

“I’ve been busting emotional nuts for days,” said Kyungsoo, smiling shyly.

Jongin opened his mouth and awkwardly fit the top half of Kyungsoo’s dick in.

“I’m going to Actually Nut, but I won’t give you the full thing, it would be rude and scary for a first time seeing my dick and also it’s too soon to rut,” babbled Kyungsoo, sliding a second finger into Jongin. “You’re welcome to do what you want with it, just keep it off your junk. I’ll help you.”

Jongin nodded yes with his mouth stuffed. He used his hand to jerk the base of Kyungsoo’s dick while sucking on the top.

“You look so pretty-handsome,” said Kyungsoo. “Your mouth feels so good, the inside of your cheeks feels so smooth and wet.”

Jongin bucked back on Kyungsoo’s finger.

“But stop pretending to be a dainty baby,” said Kyungsoo. “I can feel you clenching. Are you trying to seem tighter than you are?”

Jongin whimpered.

“There’s no shame in being able to take a lot,” said Kyungsoo. “I like the idea of you being able to handle a knot and not get hurt. Let me feel you relax.”

Jongin blew air out his nose and kept sucking while allowing his muscles to go slack.

“That’s a good wolf,” said Kyungsoo, slipping in a third finger with relative ease. “So soft. You feel like heaven. Someday soon I’m going to test all kinds of toys on you and see what you like best. But first I’m going to just touch you until you come. Does it feel good?”

Jongin moaned around Kyungsoo’s dick.

“Again,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin moaned over and over, sucking and jerking messily with enthusiasm. At the same time, Kyungsoo slipped a fourth finger into Jongin, sealing his relaxed entrance firmly.

“Are you ready to get what you wanted?” asked Kyungsoo, his jaw tense. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Jongin frantically sucked, trying to deepthroat, but wisely pulling back. Kyungsoo held his dick at the base with his free hand to help Jongin. 

“Almost-keep,” he said, the digits of his other hand working in and out of Jongin quickly. “Uhg,” he exhaled while gently directing Jongin down to take in the cum that was spurting out of his dick.

Jongin sucked and lapped noisily. He raised his head.

“You didn’t let out much cum for an alpha,” said Jongin, talking with his mouth full.

“As I mentioned, I’m giving you what you need while keeping what I need,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin reached to jerk his own dick. Kyungsoo’s free hand got there first.

“I’m going to take care of you now,” said Kyungsoo. “Do you want to come fast or slow?”

“I mean, both are going to be fast, right?” asked Jongin, his eyes closing in pleasure as Kyungsoo loosely stroked. “I’m not the one with tantric nut training.”

“I can give you some tips if you want to learn-” said Kyungsoo.

“Nope, no, that’s really fine,” said Jongin, flopping on the bed on his side, “can you just…”

“I’m going to take you to breakfast once we shower,” said Kyungsoo, pressing a kiss in Jongin’s hair and stroking him lazily.

“That sounds nice,” said Jongin, his eyes drooping.

“I have this vision of sitting on the same bench of a booth with you and helping you slice your pancakes, then watching you eat them,” said Kyungsoo.

“Sounds soft and kinky, very on-brand,” said Jongin, smiling into his pillow.

“I’m guilty of wanting to smother you with lo-attention, and this seems like the least problematic way to baby you,” said Kyungsoo, tracing Jongin’s jawline with his nose.

“What about sleep?” asked Jongin, stretching from head to toe.

“That’s what coffee is for,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin wrinkled his nose. “I hate coffee,” he said. “It’s so bitter. I have no idea how wolves drink it, there’s no way we would do that in nature.”

Kyungsoo massaged lightly at Jongin’s nape. “We drink it so we can fit in a quick handjob for our tired mate in the shower before breakfast and work,” he said. “That is...if he _wants_ one. Maybe he’s had enough and wants to stop.”

“I have an announcement to make,” said Jongin. “This is a really big thing. I’ve decided to start drinking coffee. Caffè latte.”

Jumping out of bed, out of the sheets, Jongin raced to the shower, giggling and naked.

“I’ve grown up!” he yelled behind him.

“That you have,” said Kyungsoo lowly, watching Jongin’s bare ass until it disappeared into the bathroom.


	13. Big Bad Bottom

Everything was dark, but Jongin could hear the sound of voices coming in and out.

“Fuck, Jongin, are you ok?” asked a voice.

“What the hell even happened?” asked another.

“We were just talking about the contents list of the next box!” replied the voice.

“You must have fucked up something,” responded the other person. “He almost hit the floor. Thank god Sehun was there and caught him.”

“You guys need to keep it the fuck down,” said a voice that seemed unmistakably to belong to Sehun. “If Kyungsoo finds out about this, he’s going to flip out.”

“We didn’t even do anything!” said a voice that sounded like Jongdae. “Seriously!”

“He’s fine, see? He’s fine,” said someone that sounded like Junmyeon.

Jongin stirred, opening his eyes and finding himself in one of the three giant beanbags in the Quiet Room. Shifting against the beans, Jongin looked around.

“We brought you a La Croix,” said Yixing, standing over him and thrusting the open can at Jongin.

Jongin held out his hand shakily.

“Maybe just relax for right now,” said Chanyeol. “Should we...call an ambulance?”

“No!” said Jongin quickly. “And Kyungsoo doesn’t need to know about this. It’s no big deal, I just, I must have skipped breakfast this morning.”

“Dude, we’ve got snacks all over,” said Yixing, fumbling in the front pocket of his hoodie until he found a granola bar that he handed over to Jongin. “Eat, please.”

Accepting the granola with a doubtful expression, Jongin shifted in his seat.

“We can continue,” said Jongin, “sorry, I should have eaten more.”

“It’s all good, bro,” said Chanyeol. “It’s good Sehun was there to save your ass from hitting the floor.”

Jongin awkwardly held his fist to his side, where Sehun sat in the beanbag chair to his right. Sehun just as awkwardly bumped his own fist against Jongin’s.

“We can talk in here instead of at our desks, if you want,” said Junmyeon. “It’s kinda tight, so nobody better let out their scent.”

“Isn’t that a general guideline for the workplace?” asked Yixing, looking up from notes he was scribbling with a pencil that had a small penis eraser on top.

“Ok, so the contents of the long-delayed Big Bad Bottom Box, B4 for short” said Jongdae while standing in the corner next to a keyboard and electronic drum set that were pushed against the wall.

“In addition to the _de rigeur_ butt plug training set, we’ve got-” said Chanyeol.

“I need to say something,” said Jongin grimly, holding up his hand. 

Everyone turned to him expectantly, concern on their faces.

“I had a great breakfast today,” said Jongin.

“Nice, bro,” said Sehun, raising his fist for another awkward bump. The others nodded.

“No, what I mean is that I wasn’t ill due to a lack of food,” said Jongin, passing the granola bar back to Yixing.

“Should we be worried?” asked Junmyeon.

“It was the discussion about the new box, which is insane because this is literally my job,” said Jongin, pouting and pretending to sniffle.

“There’s no way bottoming info is new to you,” said Junmyeon. “Even young wolves use the interwebs and Chirp Chirp to get information about sex.” 

Jongin curled in on himself as his colleagues gathered around and laughed while gently hitting him. 

“Ahh the newbie, it figures,” said Jongdae, gently pushing Jongin.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the bottoming expert?” asked Yixing, legitimately confused. Jongdae elbowed him and two small tentacle dildos and a package of mixed nuts flew out of Yixing’s hoodie pocket.

Jongin kept his head down.

“Wait, wait,” said Junmyeon reclining in the beanbag on Jongin’s left side. “Of course it’s normal that you wouldn’t know this! Right guys? This is nothing to be embarrassed or cry about! Totally normal.”

Jongin’s shoulders shook and he stayed folded in on himself.

“No no no no, you’re doing great,” said Junmyeon. “Isn’t he doing great?”

The team murmured in agreement.

“What’s going on?” asked Kyungsoo from the doorway.

Everyone froze.

“Jongin just wasn’t feeling well this morning,” said Junmyeon.

“Jongin?” said Kyungsoo.

Looking up, Jongin locked eyes on his mate. His eyes were pink, but tears only started to flow heavily when he met Kyungsoo’s gaze.

“What’s going on?” asked Kyungsoo gently.

Jongin nodded his head no.

“He’s really very sad,” said Kyungsoo, picking up on the signs of distress.

Jongin wiped away his tears.

“I’m ok, it’s just I started to feel unwell once we talked about the fiber capsules in the Bottom Box having diamond essence,” said Jongin. “I swear I know how to talk about sex stuff, I just imagined that going through someone’s body…” Jongin stuck his head between his knees. “Now everyone thinks I’m not up to doing my job.”

“No!” the group exploded.

“You’re a sex toy god already,” said Jongdae.

"The way you destroyed those masturbators was legend," said Chanyeol. 

“You may be young, but your passion is expressed in every dildo conversation we’ve had,” said Sehun. “You’re already a key player on the team.”

“Wait, what’s wrong with diamond essence?” asked Jongdae.

“I understand the need for keeping things youthful and polished from head to toe, but exfoliating your colon with diamond powder is-” said Jongin. “It’s too much, wolves shouldn’t have to-”

“ _Uljima_ ,” said Kyungsoo laughing as he crouched down to pat Jongin’s forearm. “Don’t cry.”

“-I can just bottom, why is this even a thing?” Jongin burst out.

“Ohh, he’s upset about the idea of fiber capsules containing diamond particles that might cause pain,” said Yixing, raising his dick-tipped pencil in the air for attention.

“Diamond essence doesn’t hurt, bro,” said Sehun, patting Jongin on the shoulder. “Companies just soak diamonds or diamond powder in watery stuff, drain out the diamonds, and use the liquid.”

“It’s a way to mark up prices,” said Chanyeol. “Nobody is getting their insides diamond scrubbed. Although I suspect some wolves might be up for that as an extreme kink, can you write that one down, Xing?”

“Got it,” said Yixing, scribbling in a small notebook.

“Oh,” said Jongin. “What about the booty blaster?”

“The Premium Booty Blaster Auto Cleaning Enema System?” asked Sehun.

“Mmm,” said Jongin, resting his head on his knees.

“Yeah, I mean, the product name is kind of extreme, but that’s more real. Nobody wants to shit on a dick,” said Sehun.

"Well, some people might, but-" said Chanyeol.

"Let's focus up," said Kyungsoo.

Jongin fanned himself, attempting to prevent another blackout or dry heaving.

“Is...bottoming...information somehow new to you?” asked Junmyeon, looking over at Kyungsoo to make sure he wasn’t breaking any rules.

“We omegas — thank fucking god — have what amounts to self-cleaning ovens,” said Jongin. 

“What the fuck, man, is your shit magicked out of you somehow?” asked Chanyeol.

“I don’t know!” said Jongin, getting worked up. “It all just works and requires no special upkeep or butt blasting or diamond abrasion! We don’t really have to think about shit? We have it, but it doesn’t just park in the way like yours does apparently. No offense.”

“Sounds fake, but ok,” said Yixing.

“Okay?” said Jongin. “I didn’t realize that there was more to the process for some wolves?”

“When I want to bottom, my asshole has a 10-step prep routine,” said Sehun. “It’s like skincare except for my ass.”

“What are we talking?” whispered Jongin, resolutely not looking at Kyungsoo.

Sehun started ticking off steps like he had stepped out of a meme.

“First off hair removal. With few exceptions, nobody wants to rim the fuzzy side of a velcro strip and fur traps odors,” said Sehun. “Pro wax is preferable, but sometimes in a pinch I’ll use hair removal cream.”

“Once I tried to shave and def ended up-” said Yixing.

Jongin paled and rocked in his beanbag almost imperceptibly.

“Ok, thank you, that’s enough info about hair removal,” said Kyungsoo. “Moving on.”

“Then there’s multiple rounds with the Booty Blaster if I’m at home,” said Sehun. “I have it set up in my shower, just turn a knob and my asshole gets irrigated. I fill and flush until the water is clearer than La Croix.”

“I’m never drinking sparkling water again,” muttered Jongin.

“What if you’re away?” asked Chanyeol.

“I use one of those bulbs you can fill in the sink or honestly...don’t judge, a water bottle with a sippy top,” said Sehun.

“What the fuck…” whispered Jongin.

“Yeah, just slide it up in there and squeeze. Gently. Too hard and you’ll end up too deep, you’ll never see the end of it,” said Sehun. “I mean, it’s sometimes necessary to do if you’re with a real big alpha, especially one who wants to shoot in you, but you have to set aside, like, a good afternoon for prep. Water temp is key: gotta get it lukewarm or the cramps are terrible.”

“Porn is a lie,” said Jongin softly.

“Oh yeah, porn wolves have even more elaborate routines than this. Nobody wants to see santorum in HD.”

“What the fuck is that?” asked Jongin, biting his lip and whimpering only loud enough for Kyungsoo to hear.

“The ‘frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex,’” said Jongdae, reading from his phone. “Named after a muggle politician.”

Jongin flopped back in his bean bag, going limp.

“Cleaning is honestly not bad as long as you’re regularly taking fiber supplements. For the box, we were going to go with the Squeaky Kleen Male Health Booster with Diamond Essence, but if you think it’s not going to go over well-” said Jongdae.

“Yeah, let’s explore switching that out,” said Jongin. “More natural branding could help us sell this box beyond the kink community.”

“After that, lube up,” said Sehun. “For a nice, wet slide we wanted to go with the UltraSlick Butt Baster Injector 300 tool and their premium natural Omegaish silicone lube with added jojoba oil for moisture and comfort.”

“What makes it omega-like?” asked Jongin.

“Doesn’t dry as quickly as most lubes,” said Jongdae, “thicker formula for comfort. It was developed to mimic real omega slick during heats for wolves with omegism who lost the ability to make slick for health reasons and then was picked up by kink communities.”

“The set of three training plugs used to have ‘alpha,’ ‘beta,’ and ‘omega’ labels that suggested the sizes corresponded to status, but we had those customized to remove the words,” said Kyungsoo, still crouched in front of Jongin. “No need to reinforce stereotypes.”

“And then there’s the Anal Invasion Inflating Plug for knot play and knotting prep,” said Jongdae.

“It’s a plug that blows up?” said Jongin.

“Yeah, I’ll save the story of how we tested them to find the right one for a day you’re not so stressed,” said Junmyeon.

Jongdae closed his eyes and made a face while nodding his head yes.

“Why the fuck do wolves do all this shit?” asked Jongin, his face drawn. “It honestly sounds...very involved.”

“I dunno, it’s kinky? They want to take a dick while not being an omega, but don’t want to shit on it?” said Chanyeol.

“I honestly have never felt more blessed to be born an omega than right now,” said Jongin, sitting up. “I wish I had known all of this growing up, it would have made accepting my status a lot easier.”

“Real talk,” said Sehun, “these days, omegas can give and take dick at any moment without a problem in the right relationship. It’s like the best of all worlds, at least in the bedroom or forest.”

“The rise of the omega,” said Yixing, nodding sagely while continuing to take notes.

“I’m embarrassed that I freaked out,” said Jongin. “It’s just...it’s a lot of information to take in.”

“There’s a lot of alpha bottom porn out there, but most of it doesn’t really deal with the dirty, practical side of bottoming as an alpha or beta,” said Junmyeon, patting Jongin’s beanbag chair. “And hey, some wolves like to keep it real natural and just get down without all of this prep, forrest style. It’s still a minority of alphas who go for this, but we think more would embrace it if they had the tools and instructions.”

“That’s where we come in,” said Sehun.

“We need to sell this idea to the mainstream wolf, the wolf that’s maybe not visiting kink forums and consuming niche porn. We know that wolves want to explore this, but we have to frame it in a way that shows it’s ok,” said Jongdae.

“But some wolves are never going to go for it, right?” asked Jongin. 

“Maybe not, but our customers aren’t just anyone — they’re way more likely to be in touch with their sexuality and less mainstream desires,” said Sehun.

“But who would do this?” asked Jongin. “It’s a whole interior renovation project that’s time-consuming and potentially uncomfortable.”

“How would you feel if you told your partner that you wanted to top and then they got the Big Bad Bottom Box to fulfil your fantasy?” asked Yixing gently.

“I would feel,” said Jongin, staring at Kyungsoo’s knees as he stood up from his crouching position. “I would feel heard. And...special.”

“It’s our job,” said Sehun, “to help wolves feel special. To make beautiful, sexy moments of connection possible.”

"And also help wolves avoid shitting on a dick," said Chanyeol. "Unless that's their goal."

“We have some work to do on this, especially on the fantasy description and social video sides, but I think we should finally move forward with this once we find the right fiber supplement,” said Yixing.

Sounds good,” said Jongin.

“Great meeting, everyone,” said Junmyeon, signaling to the team that it was time to break up the gathering.

"Are you coming to lunch with us later?" asked Chanyeol. "We're just going across the street, but sometimes it's fun to eat as a pack."

"Yeah," said Jongin, a bit breathless. "Yes, I'll be around, I want to."

“Jongin, could you see me in my office? Nobody is in trouble, don’t worry!” said Kyungsoo. “I just want to make sure to file an accident report in case of any future health insurance claims.”

“Sure,” said Jongin, bowing slightly to his colleagues while following Kyungsoo out of the Quiet Room.


	14. For Life

Jongin followed Kyungsoo into his office.

“Please have a seat,” said Kyungsoo, gesturing to the chair across from his desk before closing the door.

Jongin let Kyungsoo sit down at his desk chair before following him and plopping on his lap, his legs perpendicular to Kyungsoo’s. Draping his arms over Kyungsoo’s shoulders, Jongin surveyed his mate’s face.

“Are you really feeling better?” asked Kyungsoo, nosing at Jongin’s neck where his dress shirt gaped.

Jongin clenched the back of Kyungsoo’s sweater vest in his hands.

“Yeah,” he breathed out.

“I really do need to file this report,” said Kyungsoo. “If you need anything from insurance later on, the paperwork needs to be on file.”

Jongin tugged at Kyungsoo’s hair. “I really want to kiss your forehead,” he said.

“My forehead?” Kyungsoo asked. “Why not my lips?” He moved closer to Jongin’s lips.

“Because I’m feeling innocent right now,” said Jongin, pouting. “I just had a large shock.”

Kyungsoo stroked down Jongin’s back. “Do you want any tea?” he asked.

“No, I’m fine,” said Jongin, holding on to Kyungsoo tighter.

Kyungsoo grabbed the phone and dialed the numbers from memory. Placing his head on the shoulder opposite the one where Kyungsoo held the receiver, Jongin relaxed against his mate.

“Hello, yes, this is Do Kyungsoo with Wolf Pack. I need authorization to open an online claim form,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin turned so he could study Kyungsoo’s ear. Running his finger down the ridges and curves, he memorized the shape and structure.

“I can hold, yes,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin straightened up and pressed his lips to Kyungsoo’s forehead, at last.

“So gentle today,” said Kyungsoo softly, away from the phone.

“I find myself wanting to be tender with you,” said Jongin, his fingers running over Kyungsoo’s right cheekbone. “You don’t mind do you?”

“I love-” said Kyungsoo, suddenly interrupted by someone coming on the line. “Yes, Do Kyungsoo at Wolf Pack. I need a auth code for the online claim form. Minor accident, just need to do the reporting.”

Jongin started at Kyungsoo’s jaw line on his left side and slowly kissed down to his collar, his breath coming out as tiny puffs that tickled.

Pulling him closer, Kyungsoo leaned back so Jongin had to drape himself against him to continue.

“My admin code is 5-12-4-15-18-1-4-15,” said Kyungsoo, slipping his hand down to feel Jongin’s ass over his slacks.

Jongin got up so he could straddle Kyungsoo, leaning down to gently suck on his adam’s apple the moment he was seated. Kyungsoo slipped both hands down the back of Jongin’s pants, pulling him closer.

“I can wait,” said Kyungsoo into the receiver.

Jongin dove in for a kiss, quick at first, but then hungry.

“That excited about idea of fucking me?” whispered Kyungsoo into Jongin’s ear.

Their tongues met, each running against the other carefully and balancing the pressure.

“I want to taste you,” said Jongin, adjusting his seat on Kyungsoo’s lap.

“But you have,” said Kyungsoo, reaching up to run his fingers through Jongin’s hair starting at his nape.

“Not there,” said Jongin, his breath shaky as he pressed forward. “Somewhere new.”

“You want to defile me in the workplace?” asked Kyungsoo. “I’m going to have to write you up if you do that.”

Jongin yanked at his own tie to loosen it.

“Maybe you want me to defile you?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Maybe,” said Jongin coyly, hopping up and sitting on the edge of the desk.

“Hello, yes, that’s fine,” Kyungsoo said into the receiver.

“What’s got you feeling so romantic?” asked Kyungsoo. “Didn’t you get enough this morning?”

He stood from his chair and walked between Jongin’s legs, which spread to allow him to move closer. Kyungsoo held the receiver in his right hand while reaching out his left to cup Jongin’s face.

“Yes, that’s correct,” said Kyungsoo into the phone.

Jongin looped his legs around Kyungsoo and pulled him closer. Leaning back on the desk, Jongin tugged at his own tie again while biting his lower lip.

Kyungsoo took hold of Jongin’s tie and firmly pulled him closer.

“The idea of you doing all of that so I can experience topping has me full of butterflies,” said Jongin.

“All of what?” asked Kyungsoo playfully. “Humans do it all the time.”

“No, but,” said Jongin, dropping his head. “Most of the time wolves are ok taking the easiest possible course. Most alphas wouldn’t dream of bottoming.”

“Most alphas aren’t your mate,” said Kyungsoo, kissing Jongin gently to emphasize the point.

“Kyungsoo…” said Jongin, overcome. “I don’t know if I want to fuck you or have you fuck me, but I feel like I’m going to implode unless I get more of you.”

Running his thumb over the hints of whiskers starting to grow back on Jongin’s chin, Kyungsoo just smiled.

“Thank you for the confirmation,” Kyungsoo said into the phone before lowering it into the receiver.

Jongin laid back on the desk, still connected to Kyungsoo. He rolled his hips in search of friction.

“You looking to get wet at work?” asked Kyungsoo, somewhat surprised.

“I don’t really care,” said Jongin, grinding the heel of his palm into the bulge in his trousers.

“You look so beautiful,” said Kyungsoo. “I can’t wait for you to slide into me, baby. And after that-”

“Yes?” said Jongin.

“We should finally discuss our ceremony,” said Kyungsoo. “If you’d be up for it. If you feel ready.”

“Our ceremony?” asked Jongin, his eyes bright and hopeful.

“A small one, just us in the forest, I think,” said Kyungsoo. “Our mating. Officially.”

Jongin stopped moving. 

“Maybe it’s too early according to modern calendars, but according to the moon, we’re fine,” said Kyungsoo. “It feels right. At least to me. But I want to hear your thoughts.”

Jongin’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“I’d prefer for it to be settled before our next rut and heat,” said Kyungsoo. “It seems safest and most logical to-”

Jongin flew up to wrap his arms about Kyungsoo’s neck.

“Yes, yes, please yes,” he said.

“Jongin, you smell so good, I-” said Kyungsoo, his eyes flashing.

Yanking both Jongin’s tie and shirt to the side, Kyungsoo licked and nibbled the spot on his neck where alphas traditionally bit down to claim their mates.

“Jongin what’s going on, I’m going to go crazy if I can’t get in you, this isn’t supposed-” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin suddenly pushed Kyungsoo back.

“Oh my god,” said Jongin. “Oh my god oh my god.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Kyungsoo, frantic.

“I’m so sorry, I just, I was, oh my god,” said Jongin, buttoning his shirt and fanning his face. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“Why?” asked Kyungsoo, dropping into his chair.

“I...let out my smell,” said Jongin, his eyes large.

“Oh shit,” said Kyungsoo, running to the fan in his office.

“No, don’t turn it on, it’ll spread it all over,” said Jongin. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck.”

“It has a filter,” said Kyungsoo.

“But it’ll still blow around,” said Jongin.

“Fuck,” said Kyungsoo. “Should I pull the fire alarm to get everyone out?”

“What? What, no! That’s crazy!” said Jongin, bursting into laughter.

Kyungsoo smiled for a moment and then began to laugh hysterically, his eyes almost closing and his mouth forming a wavy heart shape.

“I don’t think I’ve ever let out my smell since, like, high school,” said Jongin. “I’m so embarrassed!”

“I was really worried that I had hurt you!” said Kyungsoo. “Or that you were coming to your senses and rejecting me.”

“Not possible. Give me a moment to get this under control,” said Jongin. “I have no idea how that even happened.”

Jongin pulled his legs up to his chest and arranged himself so he could curl on Kyungsoo’s desk and face him.

“Should I get you a basket so you can stay here all day?” asked Kyungsoo.

“How would I go out into the world and find out everything you’re doing for me if I never left your side?” asked Jongin.

Kyungsoo reached out and combed his fingers through Jongin’s bangs.

“Are you going to be ok going to lunch with the team?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” said Jongin. “I’m such a mess these days. I’m looking forward to normal.”

“I kept wanting to go slow, but it seems unfair to you I now realize,” said Kyungsoo.

“It made sense then,” said Jongin. “Now it doesn’t. So we revise the plan.”

“How do you manage to fit on this desk?” asked Kyungsoo, laughing at Jongin all curled up.

“I’m extremely flexible,” said Jongin.

“I’m not even going to…” said Kyungsoo, turning to his computer.

“Kyungsoo,” said Jongin. “What are we going to do about work?”

“About telling everyone?”’ asked Kyungsoo.

“Yeah, and about the workplace dating policy,” said Jongin.

“One of us is going to have to die,” said Kyungsoo.

“Die?” asked Jongin.

“Tragically,” said Kyungsoo. “And then the other will follow them into death. Like Romeo and Juliet except instead of warring clans it’s all about a pretty collegial sex toy start-up.”

Jongin looked up in total seriousness.

“Don’t tell me that-” said Kyungsoo.

“I think I love you,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo scooted his computer chair closer. “Aren’t we supposed to pretend that we’re uncertain about saying it for awhile longer?”

“Sure, I can hold it in like my scent, if you want,” said Jongin. He curled up tighter.

Kyungsoo laid his head on the desk right in front of Jongin’s.

“I can’t remember a time I didn’t love you,” he said. “I mean, no doubt, it will grow, but since part of being mates is instantly feeling a fraction of everything you’ll ever feel for your partner…”

“You felt it, too?” asked Jongin.

“It nearly knocked me down the moment I touched your face the first time,” said Kyungsoo, tracing Jongin’s nose.

“Then why did you leave me?” asked Jongin. "Twice."

“Because I had faith that the moment we could be together for life, we would find each other again,” said Kyungsoo.

“Kyungsoo,” said Jongin, blinking quickly. “I’m going to lunch now.”

“Are you ok?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin held out his hand. “Yes, yes, just, stay back,” he said. “If you come any closer I’m going to let out my scent again and we will have to start the whole process all over again from the top.”

Jongin hopped off the desk and skittered to the door of Kyungsoo’s office.

“Jongin!” said Kyungsoo. 

He turned.

Without making a sound, Kyungsoo mouthed “I love you.”

Jongin made a pained face and flung the door open as Kyungsoo laughed behind him.


	15. Lettuce wraps

“Let me pour you some water, Nini,” said Yixing, sitting on his right. “Is it ok that I call you that?” 

Jongin looked at his empty plate and squirmed happily. “I like it,” he said.

“What about Jonini?” asked Chanyeol.

“I like that, too,” said Jongin, smiling as he drank.

“How about...baby bear?” asked Baekhyun, sitting on his left.

“Yeah, it’s good,” said Jongin, face turned down to hide a radiant smile.

“You're the youngest, so we have to take care of you,” said Yixing.

“I like it,” said Jongin, fingers tracing the metal chopsticks next to his plate.

“Where were you before, Baek?” asked Jongdae, further down the long table at the barbecue place across the street from Wolf Pack. 

“I had Chipotle for breakfast,” said Baekhyun, rubbing his stomach absentmindedly.

“Chipotle is kind of like eating grass for Baek,” said Sehun. “He knows it’s going to make him sick, but if he already isn’t feeling great, that might be what he needs.”

“Why not take something to settle your stomach?” asked Jongin, horrified.

“That’s not really peak wolf, is it?” said Baekhyun.

“But eating queso at every meal is?” asked Jongin.

“Well, cheese…” said Chanyeol.

“Oh true,” said Jongin. “Maybe branch out?”

“I need to get a monthly cheese membership or some shit,” said Baekhyun, piling raw garlic into a lettuce leaf and grabbing some bite-size pieces of meat from one of the two grills built into the long tables..

“Where’s the kimchi?” asked Yixing, looking around at the small dishes of banchan.

“Down here,” said Sehun, passing the dish.

“Do you like your lettuce wraps spicy?” asked Yixing.

“Spicy enough,” said Jongin, curious about the question.

Jongdae grabbed the mix of soybean paste and pepper paste, dalloping some on top of the lettuce wrap.

“Open up, Jongin,” said Baekhyun, carefully holding out the lettuce wrap for him to take.

Jongin scooted closer and opened his mouth so he could take the bundle of food in one go.

“We were worried about you,” said Yixing.

Grateful for his mouth being full so he wouldn’t have to think of something to say in response to such sincere concern, Jongin chewed, nodding.

“Take the rest of the corn and cheese,” said Chanyeol, scooping it out from the side of the grill tray and placing the concoction on Jongin’s plate.

“What about everybody else?” asked Jongin.

“It’s for you, you haven’t been here with us yet,” said Chanyeol.

“Do you like veg?” asked Jongdae.

“Hmm? Oh yeah,” said Jongin, chewing on the cheese corn. “This is really good.”

“That stuff is famous,” said Jongdae. “We always fight for it. Have some veg, these pieces look good,” he said, using his chopsticks to pass chunks of cooked onion and pepper to Jongin’s plate.

“Don’t forget the steamed egg,” said Sehun from down the table. “Meat juices run into it, so it’s amazing.”

Jongdae transferred a heaping spoon of fluffy eggs to Jongin’s plate.

“Nini, what kind of meat do you like?” asked Junmyeon from the farther grill.

“I like it all, but I especially like chicken,” said Jongin.

Junmyeon flipped a piece of spicy chicken and poked at it before moving it to Jongin’s plate.

“I feel so spoiled,” said Jongin, radiant.

“You’re the newbie at the office,” said Junmyeon. “We’ve never had anyone so young with us before except for a few interns.”

“I’m happy to join Wolf Pack,” said Jongin softly.

“Urgh, I feel sick again,” said Baekhyun. “I’ll see you guys back at the office — send me a Venmo request for my share of the bill.”

Baekhyun slid out of his seat and darted off toward the bathroom.

His departure cleared the way for Jongin to see the remaining team member at the table.

“Kyungsoo is the only person who hasn’t looked after you here,” said Junmyeon. “Why so mean, Soo?”

“I know that Jongin is capable of feeding himself,” said Kyungsoo, sliding down to take Baekhyun’s spot. 

“I like being looked after,” said Jongin. “Don’t ruin this for me.”

“You’re able to look after yourself,” said Kyungsoo, swiping a piece of chicken from Jongin’s plate. “Get in there and fight for meat and cheese. You don’t have to have to wait for what they give you.”

The table burst into hoots as Wolf Pack’s alphas responded to Kyungsoo’s challenge.

Jongin slammed his spoon down on the table. Ringing hollowly, it signaled the starting round in a fight.

“Where’s the lettuce?” asked Jongin with a growl.

Sehun pushed it over to Jongin silently and pulled his hand back.

Jongin reached for the soybean and pepper paste mix and took a heaping spoonful and whacked it into the top leaf.

Grabbing kimchi, Jongin picked up a large piece and slapped it into the leaf. He scooped out large cubes of acorn jelly and flung them in, followed by an artistic sprinkling of dried fish like he was cosplaying Anchovy Bae.

Jongin wrapped the leaf up, the edges bulging.

“Open up,” said Jongin.

“I didn’t mean-” said Kyungsoo.

“No, I’m sure you didn’t,” said Jongin, “but you seem to want some alpha behavior from me, so that’s what you’re going to get.”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth with resignation. Jongin shoved the overstuffed wrap in.

“It’s called ‘collegiality’ and ‘good work pack dynamic’, don’t make this into a status thing,” said Jongin as he slipped a piece of acorn jelly that had fallen into Kyungsoo’s overstretched lips.

Turning to the rest of the table, now looking in alertness between Jongin and Kyungsoo, Jongin leaned forward slightly to make his point.

“Does anyone else want the same?” asked Jongin, his eyes flashing.

The other alphas dropped their eyes and at least one whimper was heard.

Jongin stood up from the table, straightening his back and shoulders to show his full height and width.

“Venmo me, too,” said Jongin.

“No no, we’ve got your share,” said Chanyeol, “since you’re new.”

“Thank you for coming with us, Jongin,” said Sehun, shredding a paper napkin in his lap.

Jongin nodded to the table seriously then strode out of the restaurant.

—

Having arrived at Kyungsoo’s house a few hours after work, at Kyungsoo’s request, Jongin kicked off his shoes in the foyer.

“You made quite an impression on the team at lunch,” said Kyungsoo, tying the string on his sweats.

“Oh?” asked Jongin, pulling off his coat.

“They seem to think you’re some new breed of alpha, the omega that’s actually more alphaish than alphas,” said Kyungsoo.

“All because you said we should stage a fight to keep them from suspecting that we’re together?” said Jongin.

“When I Slacked you on the way to lunch, I should have specified that I don’t like the mix of acorn jelly and dried fish,” said Kyungsoo.

“You should have made the complaint seem less real if you didn’t want a real return hit!” said Jongin, holding on to Kyungsoo’s forearm and laughing.

“Maybe I wanted to protect you from seeming weak,” said Kyungsoo, nipping at Jongin’s neck and pulling back playfully. “ _And_ cover for us.”

“You think that being treated nicely by my co-workers makes me seems weak?” asked Jongin, pulling off his scarf.

“No, I just-you know how people think,” said Kyungsoo. “They don’t know you yet.”

“What’s the problem?” asked Jongin, whipping his scarf through the air to hit Kyungsoo’s ass.

“Nothing, I-” said Kyungsoo, covering his backside and laughing.

“What? You don’t want to get fucked by a twinky omega?” asked Jongin, crowding into Kyungsoo’s space.

Kyungsoo’s eyes dropped to the low neckline of Jongin’s muscle shirt. Licking his lips, he looked back up at Jongin.

“You smell good,” said Kyungsoo, his eyes slightly unfocused. “This time it’s different.”

Jongin crowded into him further, wedging a thigh between Kyungsoo’s legs to pin him in place. “It’s your cologne,” said Jongin, running his thumb up and down Kyungsoo’s straining neck.

“What did you do, take my bottle?” asked Kyungsoo, surprised and a bit pleased.

Jongin reached back to grab Kyungsoo’s ass. “I sprayed it all over my scarf yesterday,” said Jongin. “If you won’t let out your scent even at home, I have to mark me with your scent somehow.”

“So you go with Diptyque?” asked Kyungsoo. 

“I’ll settle for what I can get,” said Jongin, sucking a light hickey low on Kyungsoo’s neck.

“Oh my god,” said Kyungsoo, pushing on Jongin lightly and giggling hysterically, “no marks!” 

Jongin whined and admired the faintly blushing patch of skin. He leaned down to cage Kyungsoo against the wall again. “But I’m so horny,” he said, reaching under Kyungsoo’s sweats to feel his bare cheeks.

Kyungsoo reached out and began to run a hand over Jongin’s half-hard dick.

“You want the arch-alpha treatment?” asked Jongin, running the flat fronts of his teeth over the shell of Kyungsoo’s left ear until he shivered. 

“I want,” said Kyungsoo, roughly gripping Jongin’s biceps. “I just want you.”

Kyungsoo looped his right leg over Jongin’s as if he was attempting to climb him. Jongin slid the hand that was gripping Kyungsoo’s ass down to sneak a feel closer to his entrance.

Jongin pulled back suddenly.

“Is that…” Jongin trailed off.

“What?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Are you…” Jongin’s eyes were large, searching for a sign he had understood.

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin down to him by the neckline of his shirt, their lips meeting in an open-mouthed kiss.

Jongin reached around Kyungsoo again, finding the end of a plug nestled between his cheeks. He felt the flared base and gently tugged on it just enough to put pressure on Kyungsoo’s rim before letting go and allowing his body to suck it back in.

Kyungsoo untied his sweats and yanked them down so his ass was exposed and the waistband rested below his balls.

Jongin reached out to touch Kyungsoo’s dick, hanging heavy and full, but not fully erect, between his legs. Jongin sank to the floor, as Kyungsoo had done before him, so he could press the thick shaft to his freshly shaved face, kissing up to the gentle swell of the half-inflated knot.

“I’ve never felt so empty as I have in the days since seeing your dick,” said Jongin. “It’s like my body made room for you and you won’t fill it.”

“Soon,” said Kyungsoo through his teeth, his hands reaching back to grip the flat paint on the foyer wall unsuccessfully as Jongin slipped his tongue into the uncut hood still covering the head.

Jongin pulled back. “Are we really doing this?” he asked.

“Probably, but what do you mean by ‘this’?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Am I going to fuck you tonight?” asked Jongin.

“I sure as fuck hope so,” said Kyungsoo.

“Then get on the bed and put that ass up for me,” he said, pulling and releasing the plug again.

Kyungsoo scampered down the hall, looking back to make sure Jongin chased him. Jongin laughed as Kyungsoo fought to get out of his pants while running.

Turning the corner into the bedroom, Jongin found Kyungsoo kneeling on the bed, his legs together and ass aloft. Kyungsoo struggled to get out of his t-shirt while balancing on his elbows, but eventually succeeded. Fully naked, Kyungsoo rested his right cheek on the sheets, his hands stretched all the way out in front of him and gripping the fabric in anticipation.

Jongin climbed onto the bed behind him. He started by using his hands to part Kyungsoo’s legs so he could see everything more clearly. 

Removing the metal plug from Kyungsoo’s ass, Jongin pulled slowly so each sculpted bead of the toy popped individually as they passed his rim. Kyungsoo’s back arched down toward the bed more exaggeratedly as Jongin pulled the toy free and dropped it on the rug.

While Kyungsoo’s dick was surrounded by a thatch of dark hair, this area was hairless and fastidiously groomed, his rim looking impossible to breach despite the toy just proving otherwise. Jongin leaned forward curiously and ran his tongue over the pucker, wetting it, then gently easing the tip inside. It opened to him, enough that Jongin was quickly able to slide a finger in alongside it.

“I’m ready,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin pulled back. “You don’t need more fing-” he said.

“No. No, I want to stretch on your dick, not your fingers,” said Kyungsoo. “That’s enough so it won’t hurt. Just ease in slow.”

Working quickly, Jongin opened his belt and hopped off the bed to shed his jeans and yank off his sweater. Kyungsoo slowly tugged at his dick while watching Jongin strip.

“Let me see how you finger yourself,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “It’s embarrassing. This is why I did everything like that before you came.”

“There’s no shame in it,” said Jongin. “Someday I’ll help you through the whole process, serve you as you prepare to take me.”

“I’m really ok with keeping some mystery in this relationship,” said Kyungsoo. 

“As you wish,” said Jongin. “But for now, show me how you stretched yourself.”

Kyungsoo awkwardly reached back and slipped two fingers past his rim.

“Don’t you need lube?” asked Jongin.

“I injected some while preparing,” said Kyungsoo.

“What, you have a lube baster?” asked Jongin. “That one from the Big Bad Bottom Box?”

“Not exactly, but sort of,” said Kyungsoo, pumping his fingers in and out. Jongin stroked himself at the same pace.

“Can I fuck you now?” asked Jongin.

“I thought you’d never ask,” said Kyungsoo, retracting his fingers and gripping the sheets with both hands again.

After such a long build-up, shuffling up the bed to take his place behind Kyungsoo and carefully easing his dick inside felt a bit anticlimactic. Jongin wondered if they should have had some champagne first or started in a different position. What if, after all that anticipation, the sex ended up being lackluster?

Jongin slowly pushed in, feeling Kyungsoo’s body stretch, accepting and resisting him at the same time.

“Ohh,” said Kyungsoo, letting out a breath he’d been holding. 

“Is it ok?” asked Jongin, scared.

“It’s good,” said Kyungsoo, panting lightly. He reached down to stroke his dick a few times. “I’m good, go ahead.”

Jongin pulled out and slid in again. And again.

“I’m so ashamed,” said Kyungsoo in a small voice. “I can’t believe that an alpha like me is getting fucked in the ass by an omega.”

Jongin stilled. Water dripped in the sink down the hall. He moved to pull out.

“Stop!” said Kyungsoo. “Don’t pull out.”

Jongin froze.

“It’s dirty talk,” said Kyungsoo. “I’m helping to set the mood.”

“But it’s our first time,” said Jongin, lifting his hands from where they gently rested on Kyungsoo’s hips to gesticulate. “Aren’t we just supposed to be in the moment?”

“How is dirty talk not in the moment?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I dunno, I thought I was supposed to be focusing on the specialness of our first time together?” asked Jongin, panicking as his dick started to go soft.

“I mean, we can do it like that, but I’m totally up for you dominating me,” said Kyungsoo. “I’m not that into gauzy Hallmark movie shit in the bedroom, personally, but if you prefer to just-”

Jongin took the opportunity to ram into Kyungsoo for suggesting that he was an avid watcher of “A Christmas Prince.”

“You decided that you want to really fuck me?” asked Kyungsoo in a teasing voice. “Make me take that dick?”

Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s hips forcefully, driving into him without reservation now. Moaning loudly, Kyungsoo spread his legs further and thrust back to meet Jongin with more force.

“Are you ready to come?” asked Jongin.

“Already?” asked Kyungsoo. “You want to come in me that bad?”

“Give me a break, I’ve never topped before!” said Jongin laughing and leaning down to take a section of Kyungsoo’s hair in his hand jokingly.

“Urgh, pull hard, just like that,” said Kyungsoo, reaching down to jerk his dick. “I’ll race you to the finish if you keep doing that to my hair.”

“You don’t mind if I come inside?” asked Jongin. 

“Anything for my baby’s first time on top,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin groaned. “You’re going to make me come too fast,” he said.

“If you do, just don’t stop, I’ll kill if you if you stop,” said Kyungsoo, frantic as he approached orgasm.

Kyungsoo’s shoulders flexed to keep his body in place as Jongin slapped against him, pushing him ever closer to orgasming.

“I can’t believe a strong alpha like you is taking it from an omega,” said Jongin. “But look at you, you’re taking this dick so well you might as well be an omega.”

Kyungsoo smiled against the sheets, his whole body warm. 

“You left me no choice,” said Kyungsoo. “I had to bend over and let you stuff me.”

“You’re taking me so good,” said Jongin. “You want this cum?”

“Yes, yes,” said Kyungsoo. “In me, come inside.”

“Are you going to hold it in like an omega?” asked Jongin.

“Yes, just do it,” said Kyungsoo. “Give it to me.”

“Get ready,” said Jongin, thrusting harder as Kyungsoo worked his dick more quickly.

“Keep going,” said Kyungsoo. “Don’t stop.”

“Fuck, Soo,” said Jongin as he came.

“Keep-” said Kyungsoo, rocking. Jongin reached down to touch Kyungsoo’s balls. The sensation yanked Kyungsoo’s jaw open, his cheekbone pressed into the mattress as he came onto the sheets.

The pair remained still for a moment while catching their breath.

Jongin carefully pulled out, using the edge of the sheet to wipe up cum that had escaped from Kyungsoo.

“I can’t believe that Do Kyungsoo, mister alpha of alphas, master of classy restraint, likes porny dirty talk in bed, who knew?” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo turned over and easily yanked Jongin into the mattress so he landed next to him.

“Are you kinkshaming me now?” asked Kyungsoo, pushing on Jongin’s bicep.

“No shame in wanting to take a dick,” said Jongin. “You did good, baby.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and crawled so he could sit on Jongin’s stomach.

“I’m going to sit and leak your cum all over you” said Kyungsoo, wigging his ass for effect.

“God, you’re so weird and cute,” said Jongin, resting his hands on Kyungsoo’s thighs.

“Don’t steal my lines,” said Kyungsoo.

“I thought your stomach would be softer,” said Jongin, tracing Kyungsoo’s faint ab lines.

“You got a...soft tummy kink of some sort that I need to know about?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Oh my god, not everything is kinks,” said Jongin, bucking up so Kyungsoo jostled on him. “Stop categorizing so you can avoid feeling.”

“Mmm, feeling,” said Kyungsoo, backing up so Jongin’s dick was trapped between his cheeks. “I love feeling.”

Jongin reached out to hold Kyungsoo’s soft dick, now resting on Jongin’s stomach.

“I can’t believe your dick,” said Jongin. “It’s not a dick, it’s cock.”

“Are you babbling, baby?” asked Kyungsoo.

“It’s just the most beautiful cock I’ve ever seen,” said Jongin. 

“You’ve seen it though,” said Kyungsoo. “You’ve even tasted it.”

“Yeah, but I’ve had time to think about it, and it’s truly amazing,” said Jongin. “It’s so much, what country did I save in my last life to deserve all this?”

Kyungsoo leaned back to give Jongin more access.

“How do you even get this thing to behave in public?” asked Jongin, gripping the top half of the shaft firmly.

“Sometimes it doesn’t,” said Kyungsoo. “But, you know, like anyone, I tuck.”

“How can you be so patient?” asked Jongin. “If I had a monster like that, I’d want to get it in my mate as soon as possible.”

“Mine is the only dick I’ve ever had, so it’s not like I’m like ohh, my dick is especially demanding to get buried,” said Kyungsoo, laughing as he held Jongin’s mostly hard dick steady and sunk onto it again.

“You’d make such a good omega,” said Jongin, watching Kyungsoo slowly bounce. “But somehow you’re an even better alpha.”

“Everyone thought I’d be an omega,” said Kyungsoo, dropping more forcefully. “When I was growing up.”

“I’m glad you’re an alpha,” said Jongin. “My alpha.”

Reaching out to Kyungsoo, Jongin pulled him closer so they could kiss.

“You’re so wet,” said Jongin softly, feeling up Kyungsoo’s back.

“That’s you,” said Kyungsoo. “Your cum.”

“Are you getting tired?” asked Jongin, looking down at Kyungsoo’s erect cock trapped between them.

“Not at all,” said Kyungsoo, dropping down harder to prove his point.

“I feel bad making you do all the work,” said Jongin, rubbing his face alongside Kyungsoo’s neck.

“Keep your dick hard, that’s all I need from you,” said Kyungsoo, panting lightly.

Jongin wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo. “All you need from me?” he asked, thrusting up. “That’s it?”

Kyungsoo squirmed and giggled as Jongin’s index and middle finger felt where his rim stretched around Jongin’s dick.

“You just need this dick? What about all my love and affection?” asked Jongin.

“I suppose I need that, too,” said Kyungsoo, leaning in for another slow kiss.

Jongin secured Kyungsoo’s legs around him and quickly rolled them over together, barely remaining inside.

“Fancy,” said Kyungsoo, stretching his legs to allow Jongin to settle more comfortably between them.

Back arching as Jongin took control, Kyungsoo wrapped his legs around Jongin again.

“What am I going to do with you?” asked Jongin. “You feel too good, I’m never pulling out.”

“Don’t say things you can’t deliver on,” said Kyungsoo, working his thumb over the head of his dick to spread precome around.

“Were you really worried when I acted mad at the restaurant?” asked Jongin quietly.

“No, even an unkind word from you is still more satisfying to me than the highest praise from someone else,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin nipped at Kyungsoo’s bare shoulder as though he was an alpha about to claim his omega mate.

“Say whatever, just never stop speaking,” said Kyungsoo.

“I want to only say kind things to you,” said Jongin, thrusting in deeper and sucking on Kyungsoo’s left nipple. “I want your life to be filled with only beautiful things.”

“I have you now,” said Kyungsoo. “Everything else is just background noise.”

Jongin continued to thrust while leaning down to give Kyungsoo a slow kiss. Kyungsoo broke away.

“You’ll kill me if you stop,” said Kyungsoo, starting to stroke his dick. 

“I won’t, I won’t,” said Jongin. “But did you let out your smell?”

Kyungsoo’s hands flew up to cover his own face as he moaned, his dick hard and bouncing against his body. “I must have, oh my god, it’s so good, just don’t stop, I love you, I love this.”

Jongin looked down at his mate before lifting up one of Kyungsoo’s legs and placing it on his shoulder to go deeper. With the hand on the opposite side, Jongin took over pumping Kyungsoo’s cock, running his hand up and down the shaft roughly before gently smearing precome over the head.

“That, oh my god, do that,” said Kyungsoo, his forearm covering his eyes as his body began to tense. Jongin kept teasing the head until Kyungsoo bit down on his own arm to contain the noises he made involuntarily as cum splattered in loops on his chest, hitting Jongin’s abs in a few places.

Jongin kept thrusting until Kyungsoo whimpered due to overstimulation.

“Can I come on your stomach?” asked Jongin, stilling.

“Come wherever,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin ran his fingers up the inside of Kyungsoo’s thigh to watch him shake from post-orgasm sensitivity, then efficiently jerked himself to completion until he unloaded around Kyungsoo’s navel.

Kyungsoo stretched and his eyes closed.

Jongin hopped up, yelling behind himself, “give me just a second!”

When Kyungsoo opened his eyes again, it was to the feeling of Jongin cleaning him off with a warm washcloth.

“How did you find it?” asked Kyungsoo.

“The washcloth? Your bathroom isn’t exactly huge,” said Jongin. “I figured it out.”

“Such a smart mate,” said Kyungsoo. “Such a pretty mate.”

“Hop up, you’re going to hate me if I let you sleep without completely cleaning up in the shower,” said Jongin, holding his hands out for Kyungsoo to take.

When they were back in bed, Jongin experimentally arranged Kyungsoo under his arm. Kyungsoo didn’t fight it, didn’t demand that they immediately revert to the traditional roles of their respective statuses. 

“Is it ok?” asked Jongin.

“It’s wonderful,” said Kyungsoo with his eyes closed.

“No, I mean, the fact that…” Jongin trailed off. “It’s ok that I topped? Are you sure?”

Kyungsoo buried his nose further in Jongin’s armpit. “It’s lovely,” he said. “I’ve always said that.”

“Do you...not,” started Jongin, uncertain of how to ascertain whether Kyungsoo even wanted to top in the future, given his current blissed out state and insistence that Jongin top first.

“Hmm?” asked Kyungsoo, snuggling closer.

“You smell good, baby,” said Jongin, leaning down to kiss Kyungsoo’s head and deciding to raise the question of whether Kyungsoo even liked topping later.

“I let it out just for you,” said Kyungsoo, smiling into Jongin’s shirt as he stilled and drifted off.

Jongin watched Kyungsoo sleep, satisfied in some ways, but feeling the itch in the back of his mind grow even more demanding.


	16. The Ceremony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not posting since December, I've been dealing with a complete writing dry spell. I still don't feel totally like I'm back in my own voice yet, but I think you deserve to know what comes next!
> 
> Many thanks to [indigomini](https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigomini/pseuds/indigomini) for betaing this and telling me I shouldn't try to hurl it into the sea.

“Do you want a pillow?” asked Kyungsoo, leaning over to brush Jongin’s droopy hair out of his drooping eyes.

“I’m good,” said Jongin, turning toward him to settle in the permanently reclining passenger seat.

Kyungsoo put the car in reverse, shifting up to see over Jongin’s mound of luggage in the back. 

The moon, on the cusp of being full, still shone in the morning sky, hanging on the horizon. By night, it would be the full moon and tides would swell while wolves reached their modern physical peak. 

No longer able to transform into animals, wolves nonetheless still felt the pull of the moon each month. By the mid-1900s, many wolves had put aside their wolfy characteristics and sought to blend in with the general population. But a movement, starting small in the 1980s, sought to reintroduce wolves to their wolfier side. The ban on heat and rut suppressants in 1992 due to severe side effects and the entrepreneurial spirit of the tech boom resulted in a number of products intended to capitalize on wolf features and culture.

A new start-up offering ultra-private, rustic woodland accommodations meant for wolves looking to experience nature together (and disconnect from work and social media demands) had contacted Wolf Pack about a possible collaboration a few weeks before, and Kyungsoo jumped at the chance to book the “Toasty Cabin,” no doubt meant to imply that it would be a great place to spend a heat. After being reassured that a cleaning crew fumigated and scrubbed down every surface after each visit, Kyungsoo locked in the dates for a very special weekend away.

It wasn’t quite time for Jongin’s heat, but Kyungsoo thought that a romantic weekend in the forest might be the perfect time to finally pop the knot in his mate. Of course, telling Jongin about the plan would ruin the (literally) big surprise. Kyungsoo presented the weekend away from the city as a chance to shop for antiques, sample locally roasted coffee, and get matching claim tattoos.

—

After arriving at 4pm and scarfing down some hastily prepared grilled cheese sandwiches, Jongin and Kyungsoo locked away their cell phones in the specially designated Unwire Box. Jongin settled in to finish his nap while Kyungsoo brewed some tea and took the massive weekend edition of the newspaper onto the deck just outside.

Kyungsoo made his way through Sports, Business, and two-thirds of Styles before Jongin emerged from inside the cabin. Despite the cold air, he wore just the jacket Kyungsoo had loaned him years ago and a pair of red briefs.

Kyungsoo looked up and moved the paper to the ground, understanding that his full attention was required.

Jongin walked up to Kyungsoo, standing straight with his hips tilted forward slightly.

Silence. The wind rustled some tree leaves, but otherwise even the birds seemed to hold their breath at what the pair would do next.

Jongin drew his hands into the sleeves and began to curl his shoulders in.

Kyungsoo reached out for Jongin’s right hand. Jongin’s face remained neutral, but his body went limp with relief.

“Are you for me?” asked Kyungsoo, looking up at his mate, his voice a bit rough. Clearly they had the same ideas for this trip, even if they hadn’t discussed it in advance.

Kyungsoo’s free hand ran up Jongin’s thigh and then rested on warm cotton front of his underwear. He moved his thumb to delicately stroke the head through the fabric.

“For you to fuck?” asked Jongin while biting his lip.

“Made for me to love,” said Kyungsoo, leaning to mouth at Jongin’s navel. “To think that you started from a cell and sparked into two and then four, that’s all you were, exploding from almost nothingness to become my everything.”

Jongin drew deep breaths.

“You’ve become my life,” said Kyungsoo, nosing around the rim of his bellybutton.

“Were you not made for me, too?” asked Jongin, raising an eyebrow.

“But I was already made when you were conceived since I’m older,” said Kyungsoo, smiling against Jongin’s abs and looking up.

Pushing Kyungsoo cutely, Jongin stepped back.

Kyungsoo patted his lap. 

“Do you expect me to come running like a puppy?” asked Jongin.

“A man can dream,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin shivered. Unfolding a velvety blanket left on the bench by the rental company, Kyungsoo stretched it between his hands and motioned for Jongin to come get warm.

Jongin turned so he could settle on Kyungsoo’s lap with his back against his mate’s chest. 

Pulling the blanket away from Jongin’s neck, Kyungsoo began to lick down from his tightly pulled tendons to his shoulder.

“Can I nip you?” asked Kyungsoo, sucking on Jongin’s skin.

“Gently, don’t break skin or we can’t—”

“I know,” said Kyungsoo. “I’ll be gentle.” He settled his teeth over a meatier bit of skin and pinched it with his teeth.

“Kyungsoo,” said Jongin, going limp. “Don’t make me wait anymore.”

“Why are you always rushing?” asked Kyungsoo, rubbing his cheek against Jongin’s hairline, where the short hair felt good on his skin.

“Because I want it,” whined Jongin. “I’m starting to think that you’re more into delayed gratification than the actual deed.”

“I’m not,” said Kyungsoo, leaving it at that.

“Kyungsoo,” said Jongin. “Do you not…”

He shifted to see Kyungsoo’s face.

“You do like being…”

Getting no help from Kyungsoo, Jongin slid off his lap and walked down the steps — still barefoot — to the ground level, where a fire pit was surrounded by smooth, hard packed dirt. 

“Be careful, you’re barefoot!” called Kyungsoo from the deck above.

“I’m aware,” said Jongin, frustration evident in his voice. 

The nascent fire wavered in the pit as a light breeze caused the trees to rustle. Barefoot and bare legged, Jongin shivered.

“You’re going to get cold,” called Kyungsoo.

Jongin stomped, his sexual frustration coming to a head. Dust rose from the ground. He stomped with the other foot. Surrounded by swirling dust that reached his shins, Jongin extended a leg to cut through it.

Kyungsoo stood at the railing, silently watching.

Jongin reached toward the pine branches and birch tree leaves that swayed overhead, spinning slowly to watch how they brushed against each other. Then he brought his hands down, rolling his hips fluidly as though he were dancing with the forest.

Jongin made circles with his hips and began to move around the fire. He twirled on the balls of his feet, gaining speed as Kyungsoo walked down the stairs from the deck.

“Oh,” said Jongin, half collapsing and holding his foot.

Kyungsoo rushed to him.

Jongin held up a hand. “I’m ok, I think I just got a small rock or something stuck in my foot.”

Not slowing down, Kyungsoo scooped Jongin up and carried him steadily toward a clearing in the woods.

“We’re not going to the cabin?” asked Jongin.

“Not right now,” said Kyungsoo, his voice rough from carrying Jongin.

The sun’s rays looked red through the remaining trees, the sun itself sinking fast toward the horizon. Kyungsoo carried Jongin through a break in the treeline, which led to a dock over a small lake.

Depositing Jongin on the dock, Kyungsoo examined the underside of his foot, gently removing a pine needle that had pieced the skin. He washed off the wound and dried it with the hem of his shirt, kissing the skin that had been hurt.

“I’ll clean it properly back at the cabin,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin cupped the front of his briefs, shielding his arousal from view, but also drawing attention to it.

Finally satisfied with his work, Kyungsoo backed away from Jongin’s foot and realized that that his mate was perhaps thinking about something other than his foot.

“May I?” asked Kyungsoo, gesturing toward the waistband.

Jongin leaned back, withdrawing his hand.

“May I remove these so we can perform the ceremony?” asked Kyungsoo, looking for a clearer indication that Jongin wanted to go forward.

“Here?” asked Jongin, looking around the desolate shore and glassy water. “I thought the cabin…”

“Here,” said Kyungsoo.

“Yes, yes of course,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo eased the underwear off, watching as Jongin’s eyes darted around to see if they were being watched.

“Are you sure nobody is here?” asked Jongin.

“Not within five miles, it’s part of the rental agreement,” said Kyungsoo. “Let out your scent, you can relax here.”

“It scares me a little, how alone I feel here. You could tell me that we drove to a resort on Mars and I wouldn’t be totally surprised. The water is just so calm and the sun is so red. It’s strange, so quiet,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo helped Jongin hold his own legs open. 

“You’re not alone anymore,” said Kyungsoo, kissing down Jongin’s inner thigh.

“I feel very,” said Jongin, hiccuping when Kyungsoo’s lips reached his his sack, “not alone.”

Hands separating Jongin’s cheeks, Kyungsoo stared down hungrily. “How is your rim swollen for me when you’re not even in heat?”

“It must be…” said Jongin, muscles flexing when he felt Kyungsoo lick over him. “Something about the time or occasion.”

Kyungsoo slid his tongue inside.

“More,” said Jongin.

Slipping a finger in alongside his tongue, Kyungsoo gently raked his nails over Jongin’s bent knee.

“Now, I want it now,” said Jongin, his breathing frantic.

Kyungsoo pulled back, then yanked off his shirt. 

“You don’t need more prep?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I’m ready and I want to feel the stretch,” said Jongin, his right thumb tracing the knot in a plank.

Kyungsoo made quick work of removing his cock from his pants and gently bumping it against Jongin’s rim. 

“I began to worry that you didn’t like to top,” said Jongin, his hand recoiling when he felt a spray of water hit it. Looking around, he saw that the water below the dock had risen and waves had formed on the once smooth surface.

“Just because I didn’t rush in?” asked Kyungsoo, finally entering him.

“Most wolves wouldn’t wait,” said Jongin, his back arching to help Kyungsoo line up perfectly.

“I wanted to experience this place with you,” said Kyungsoo. “I read about it and imagined us in the photos. It felt silly to say out loud because what full grown wolf dreams that much about their mating ceremony these days? How many of us even have ceremonies?”

“No, it’s perfect,” said Jongin. “Perfect.”

“The moon and the waves don’t do anything special,” said Kyungsoo, nipping at Jongin’s swollen bottom lip. “Our bond is already whole. But I wanted this with you for our first time tying together to be like this.”

“The moon?” asked Jongin.

Kyungsoo nodded to the full moon, now faintly visible in the sky.

“This must be why everything is so wet, why the waves,” said Jongin, shuddering in pleasure as a cool spray hit his chest, “are wild right now.”

“You are, too,” said Kyungsoo, sliding in as his eyes closed to relish the feeling of wet heat.

“Kyungsoo,” said Jongin, his face serious. “I need you to knot me.”

Shifting to press the bulb against Jongin’s rim, Kyungsoo winced. “I don’t think it’s going to work, I don’t want to hurt you. Knots swell bigger during the full moon, too.”

Bouncing minutely, Jongin whined. “No no, it has to work, it has to,” he said, almost crying. “You promised.”

“You want it that bad?” asked Kyungsoo.

“Yes,” said Jongin, holding his own dick steady.

Pulling out of Jongin, Kyungsoo winced as his wet dick hit cool air. “Up, on your knees, now,” he said.

Jongin complied, taking off his jacket and placing it under his knees, pressing his ass up and using the uneven planks of the dock for grip.

Kyungsoo lined himself up and then slid in with force while pulling Jongin’s hips back onto him. The motion was enough to slide the knot in halfway, at which point Kyungsoo was able to press the rest in slowly. Mouth stretched into a silent look of surprise, Jongin panted at the fullness.

“You’re so wet I bet I could fuck this knot into you,” said Kyungsoo.

“I can’t, I can’t,” moaned Jongin. “It’s too much, too good.”

“What are you scared of, baby?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I’m going to come too fast, get too loose, you’re going to think that me being wet is slutty,” said Jongin, his left cheek resting against the jacket that served as a blanket on the dock.

Kyungsoo began to rock his knot minutely. “Nothing you do with me when we’re mating could be wrong. It’s perfect because you’re perfect for me.”

“I’m scared that you’ll leave me after this. That you’ll see who—what—I really am,” said Jongin.

“I’m scared to let my inner alpha out because I don’t want to be one of those toxic guys,” said Kyungsoo.

“You’re not,” said Jongin. “Not at all, my god.”

“Will you leave all of that at the end of the dock and be here with me as you, be here with your real desires?” asked Kyungsoo. “I can, too.”

Jongin smelled something delicious and warm and comforting. Kyungsoo’s scent. It was heavy on cooked rice and sandalwood, simple and homey. 

“I love you and trust you,” said Jongin, arching his back down toward the dock and willing his body to relax on the knot.

Kyungsoo rocked hard into his hips, held steady, and felt the slick and relaxed muscles allow his knot to slip free. 

“So good,” said Kyungsoo, gripping Jongin’s hips tighter as he thrust decisively. “A little more, you can do it, open up for me.”

Jongin spread his legs a bit wider and let the scent relax him.

Kyungsoo wiggled the knot in and out, each time it popped against his rim. 

Jongin groaned. “Faster,” he said, pushing back.

The sound of slick on skin mixed with the sound of waves. Jongin’s arms almost gave out when he felt water surge from between the planks.

“It’s the high tide,” said Kyungsoo.

“Kyungsoo,” said Jongin, almost in tears, his head down, reaching around for his mate’s hand.

Kyungsoo pulled Jongin up into a back hug while continuing to fuck into him, his mate’s sensitive dick slapping down against his own thigh as the water rose to lap at their legs.

“If I come in you, it’s going to be a lot, so I should pull out,” said Kyungsoo softly into Jongin’s ear.

“Inside,” he gasped, starting to tighten around Kyungsoo’s cock.

Arms holding Jongin firmly, Kyungsoo began to release in him, pumping deep, but also seeping past the knot to leak down Kyungsoo’s shaft.

Tied together for twenty minutes, Jongin leaned against Kyungsoo, who held him from behind. Together they watched the waves roll in and the eerily red sun set in the distance.

When finally able, they slowly got up on shaky legs and exchanged a chaste kiss while standing on the dock. Upon turning back, Jongin saw that his precious jacket had been swept off the dock by the waves. 

Kyungsoo saw it heading out. It was still within swimming distance, so he moved to go into the lake to recover it.

“Let it go,” said Jongin, mentally saluting the object that got him through years of sadness as the sea carried it away. “I have you now.”

—

_The video on the screen in front of their bed started blurry as someone ran between trees._

_“I’m going to get you!” yelled the voice behind the camera._

_A figure in red ran ahead while screaming._

Kyungsoo gestured to the screen while eating popcorn. “I still can’t believe you wore those shoes in the forest,” he said.

“The platform heels? I thought you liked them?” asked Jongin, pouting cutely.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love them, but you could have hurt yourself by stepping on so much as a leaf,” said Kyungsoo.

_“Get back here, you have something of mine!” yelled Kyungsoo from behind the camera._

Jongin stole a handful of popcorn from Kyungsoo’s bowl, his own long gone.

_Kyungsoo growled on film. “That pussy is all mine,” he said, “get back here.”_

“Your Red Riding Hood kink is wild,” said Jongin. “Who would have known that Do Kyungsoo likes it _that_ nasty.”

“Listen, it’s all roleplay, just a fantasy,” said Kyungsoo, sinking down on the mattress in embarrassment. “Don’t kinkshame.”

“I’m not complaining, it’s not every day I get to run around in a cape, white frilly stockings, and platforms with my dick out,” said Jongin.

“There _were_ panties in the set, I have no idea what happened to them,” said Kyungsoo.

“Ok, about that, don’t be mad…” said Jongin.

“What did you do?” asked Kyungsoo.

“I may have tried them on and immediately come in them,” he said. “I didn’t want you to know.”

“Like...you came in five seconds?” asked Kyungsoo.

“More or less,” said Jongin, slumping to Kyungsoo’s level on the bed.

“Wow,” said Kyungsoo, reaching over to hold Jongin’s hand.

_“I’ve got you,” snarled Kyungsoo on the video. “Now bend over and let me see that pussy.”_

_Jongin on the film slowly bent over until he was holding a tree trunk for support, his red cape coming up to reveal his ass cheeks._

Kyungsoo turned his face toward Jongin while keeping his eyes glued on the video. “You looked so good that day,” he said, his hand traveling to rest over Jongin’s half-hard cock.

_“Spread yourself,” said Kyungsoo behind the camera. “Like that.”_

_“Sir,” said Jongin, his voice trembling, “I’m not what you think, I’m not a woman taking food to her grandmother. I’m a male wolf in heat trying to get his hole filled.”_

_Kyungsoo slapped Jongin’s cheeks, causing them to jiggle. The camera got closer as Kyungsoo showed off the jiggling._

_“I’m hard and you need a knot. I’d call that perfect synergy,” said film Kyungsoo._

“I need you to never use business terms when talking dirty,” said Jongin, pretending to move Kyungsoo’s groping hand away from his dick.

“It’s hard to think when most of your blood is filling a knot!” said Kyungsoo, reaching under the blankets to feel Jongin, skin on skin.

“Are you wearing…” asked Kyungsoo.

“I washed them,” said Jongin, pushing down the sheets and blanket to reveal the frilly white panties from the Red Riding Hood play set.

_“Show me that pussy,” said screen Kyungsoo, moving the camera in closer._

_“I told you I’m a boy!” shouted Riding Hood Jongin._

_“Show me what you want filled,” said Kyungsoo._

_Jongin gripped his cheeks and spread them to display himself._

_“This hole looks well-used,” said Kyungsoo, passing a finger over the puffy rim dismissively._

_“My mate fucked me, but I can’t find him now,” said Jongin, trembling. “I need it. Now. Please.”_

Kyungsoo stroked over the panties. “You really did look quite well-used,” he said. “And that was just day one. How are you feeling there now?”

Jongin shifted. “Yeah, well-used is the right term,” he said wryly.

Kyungsoo gently removed Jongin’s cock from his panties and softly fondled it while cupping himself and massaging where the knot would form.

_“You want this knot?” asked Kyungsoo onscreen, sandwiching his dick between Riding Hood Jongin’s cheeks._

_“Yes, yes, sir, please!” yelled Jongin._

_The screen zoomed in on Kyungsoo stroking himself and prodding at the knot to show how firm it was. He slapped Jongin’s right ass cheek with the hard length._

_“You going to make that pussy wet for me?” asked Kyungsoo._

Jongin looked over at Kyungsoo and rolled his eyes. “Your ‘pussy’ fixation is wild for someone that has never even dated a woman. Do we need to talk?”

“No, it’s just a nice word,” said Kyungsoo, flipping off the blankets to show that he was hard and naked. 

“What’s the plan, mate?” asked Jongin.

“Stay there,” he said, stopping Jongin from moving. “Your _hole_ is still recovering from this weekend.”

“The way you ate me out this morning made it feel better,” said Jongin, pushing his balls out from the panties, too.

_Onscreen, Kyungsoo was pushing past Jongin’s rim while the camera zoomed in on where they were connected._

“I know that the point of that cabin start-up is to get couples out in nature and away from tech, but I can’t help but love that our first sex tape has a leaf background,” said Kyungsoo, lubing up Jongin’s dick.

“Synergy,” whispered Jongin, his eyes fixated on how his rim had strained on film when Kyungsoo tried to ease in his knot the first three times.

The audio of well-lubricated fucking filled the bedroom as Kyungsoo lowered himself onto Jongin’s cock.

“Oh fuck, take it slow,” said Jongin, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Does it hurt?” asked Kyungsoo, alarmed.

“No, no, not at all, it’s just that I’m about two strokes from coming,” said Jongin.

“Why the short fuse?” asked Kyungsoo, tensing his thighs to slow the slide down.

“The panties,” said Jongin.

“Not my _pussy_?” asked Kyungsoo mischievously as he settled to the base of Jongin’s dick.

“That, too,” said Jongin, holding his breath.

“If I’m not mistaken, our film ends with my cum leaking out of your gaping hole,” said Kyungsoo.

Jongin winced, trying to hold back his orgasm.

“I want you to do that to me now,” said Kyungsoo. “Make it drool out and coat my balls while you make me hold still so you can take pictures.”

“Fuck,” said Jongin, squeezing the base of his dick. “You’re just trying to make me come, I hate you. Hands and knees.”

Kyungsoo scrambled to get doggystyle in front of the screen so he could watch himself thrusting into his mate while taking his cock. Jongin slowly breathed behind him to try to buy a bit more time until he unloaded.

Jongin fed his cock into Kyungsoo, who pushed back to meet him enthusiastically.

“You gonna let me fuck you when you’re rutting?” asked Jongin. “You up for letting that knot go unused for a few days while you take me over and over and get more and more frustrated?”

“You wouldn’t,” said Kyungsoo, his back arching in pleasure as he chewed on the sheets to stay focused.

“Wouldn’t what?” asked Jongin. “Wouldn’t fill up your _pussy_?”

Kyungsoo howled into the mattress as his orgasm hit, his whimpers due to overstimulation blending with those of Jongin in the video.

Jongin roughly turned Kyungsoo over after he came and began licking his way up his torso, tonguing down his overstimulated dick despite protests, working his way past his navel and over a nipple until he could plant gentle open-mouth kisses over the tattoo of a claiming bite on his shoulder.

Kyungsoo groaned at the feeling of the tender skin being touched.

“You’re not supposed to—” said Kyungsoo.

“We’re wolves, the usual tattoo rules don’t apply to us,” said Jongin.

“Sounds fake,” said Kyungsoo, pulling Jongin closer so he could nip at his mate’s claiming tattoo, too.

Jongin worked his hand over his dick between their bodies. 

“All the way back,” said Jongin.

Kyungsoo released Jongin’s skin and fully reclined on the bed, squinting so he wouldn’t get cum in his eyes when Jongin released on his face.

Instead, Jongin sped up his strokes and directed his cock to shoot onto Kyungsoo’s claim tattoo.

“I’m already marked,” said Kyungsoo, eyeing the cum cooling on his shoulder suspiciously.

Jongin happily played with his cum, rubbing it into the ink like lotion. “Mine, twice over,” he said with a snarl that didn’t match the cute way he was playing with his release.

“When is your heat due?” asked Kyungsoo.

Jongin just kept playing and humming to himself, pausing only to grab his phone and snap some photos of his work.

“I’ll update the calendar at work,” said Kyungsoo, patting Jongin’s head.


End file.
